Thankful

Since it's the season to reflect on all the blessings in our lives, I thought I'd share some of the things I'm thankful for this year.  (The list below is neither exhaustive nor in any particular order of priority.) 

I am thankful for...

• 5:30 am (or earlier) wake up calls (Gavin: "Mom. Up. Go. Out;" Ryan: "Is it time to get up yet?")
• Mealtime pleadings ("how many more bites till I earn dessert?")
• Constant negotiations with Ryan ("Just one more book," "How about this," or "I have a better idea")
• Story requests during car rides ("Can you tell me a Batman story?")
• Gavin's separation anxiety
• Tattling
• Sharing squabbles
• Bath time splashing (the kind that soaks the walls, bathmats, or anything else in a 3-foot radius)
• After dinner dancing to "yelling" music
• Gavin's eating antics (e.g., treating food like shampoo)
• Birthday parties for Ryan's stuffed animal friends (i.e., Super Pig, Pumpkin Bear, Blue Puppy, Monkey, or Spot)
• Polka-dotted carpet from juice stains
• Gavin's temper tantrums when things don't go his way
• Ryan's "I'll do it myself attitude" (which is quickly followed by, "Mommy, can you help me...")
• Daddy magic

Although we're in the throes of parenting - exhausted, too often impatient, amused and frustrated by the constant correction from an all-knowing preschooler, and run ragged by an adventurous toddler - we know that all too soon we'll look back and miss all this.  I'll admit, there are days when I long for the time when Gavin won't require as much supervision and Ryan will be able to occupy himself.  But then I quickly realize that that time will come before I know it and then I'll miss the days when they wanted and needed my undivided attention.

We convince ourselves that life will be better or easier when...(we get married, have a baby, kids outgrow a difficult stage, we get a nicer car, bigger house, go on a dream vacation, retire, etc.) The truth is, there's no better time to be happy than right now. If not now, when? Life will always be filled with challenges. We need to embrace our current reality rather than live for the future and treasure every moment, good and bad, that we get to spend with those we love most.
A wise friend told me that as a parent, your days are long but your years are short.  Although the song, "You're Gonna Miss This" by Trace Adkins brings me to tears every time I hear it, I wanted to share it because it's true for all of us, regardless of what stage in our life we're in.  (Click here to hear the song/see the music video:  http://www.cmt.com/videos/trace-adkins/217378/youre-gonna-miss-this.jhtml)  Time waits for no one, so we all should make the best of it because as the chorus promises... 

"You're going to miss this

You're going to want this back

You're going to wish these days

Hadn't gone by so fast

These are some good times

So take a good look around

You may not know it now

But you're going to miss this"

With this in mind, I'm off to bed and eager to greet the boys before the sun rises.  The earlier they get up, the more time we have to spend together right?! ;-)  Here are pictures of my little blessings:

Happy Birthday, Guinness!

Ten years ago today, our first son was born (the furry, four-legged one).  He was a Christmas present from Mike (technically he offered me a choice between a dog and a piece of furniture).  He has been a constant companion and faithful friend despite the many changes that have occurred in our lives such as moves, marriage, children.

Over the years, he's earned several nicknames, but "Guinea Pig" is the one that seems to have stuck. ("Guinea" because it sounds like Guinness and as a puppy he looked more like a guinea pig than a dog, and "pig" because he eats so much and constantly begs for more!)

He's crazy and can be cranky at times, but we love him and can't imagine life without him (who else would give us such a rousing send off every time we left the house?!).  Here's to 10 wonderful years, and hopefully many more to come! 

To celebrate his milestone birthday, Ryan organized a birthday party.  He even wrote a song to commemorate the event (the tune is "Wild Thing," which I find appropriate).  Note that both boys' shirts are a tribute to their favorite cairn terrier!

At the birthday bash, there were games to play...

Presents to open...

Treats to perform for...

New toys to play with...

And ice cream to enjoy...

Happy birthday, Guinness!  Hopefully today's indulgences don't lead to tomorrow's vomiting and diarrhea! 

(I do feel slightly guilty that Guinness' birthday blog is on time, yet several months later I still have not put up a post about either boy's birthday!)

A Different Perspective

Mike and I dream of evenutally owning a water front home, or at least one with a water view.  Our current reality, however, could not be further from our dream view of sand dunes, beach grass, and crashing waves.  On the dawn of the grand opening of the IHOP that sits practically in our front yard, we'd like to offer a different perspective regarding our view:

http://www.cmt.com/videos/lonestar/59318/my-front-porch-looking-in.jhtml

Although our resale value is devastatingly low as a result of the commerical construction across the street, the lyrics from the Lonestar song, "From My Front Porch Looking In" capture what's really important.

My blessings are in front of me

It's not about the land

I'll never beat the view

From my front porch looking in

I see what beautiful is about
When I'm looking in

Not when I'm looking out

It's like the old addage, "it's not what's on the outside that matters; it's what's on the inside that counts."  While the view out our front door is far from ideal, what really matters is what happens inside the walls of our home.  That's where memories are made.  From the chipped paint on the baseboards from truck races and soccer matches in the hallway, to the paint and pen stains on the kitchen table from impromptu art projects, and the juice stains and greasy fingerprints on the couch from family movie nights, I think we have a beautiful home built on love and happiness.

Caped Crusaders

"Wayne Manor is where most people think I live, but only bats know my true home.  Beneath Wayne Manor is my secret hideaway, the Batcave!  Here, all alone, I study clues to solve crimes. 

When Gotham City is in trouble, Police Commissioner Gordon sends me the Bat Signal.  I race to the scene of the crime in...the Batmobile! 

In the dark of the night, criminals think they can get away.  They are wrong.  I fight all crime and evil.  I am a creature of the night.  I am Batman. 

This is my story.  My real name is Bruce Wayne.  When I was a boy, my parents gave me a lot of love, and I loved them, too.  We always had fun together, especially when I pretended to be my favorite hero. 

But one night, on our way home from the movies, a thief took my parents' lives.  It was then that I, Bruce Wayne, vowed to spend the rest of my life fighting crime, criminals, and evil. 

As I grew up, Alfred, my butler, cared for me.  I learned meditation, self-defense, and boxing.  I educated myself by studying math, politics, law, and science to help me outsmart criminals.  I exercised to make my body strong.  I had to be more powerful than any foes I would face. 

One night, a bat flew past my window and gave me a brilliant idea.  To frighten villains, I became...Batman! 

I have many enemies - the Joker, the Penguin, Catwoman, and Two-Face.  There will always be a criminal to stop, a victim to save, a monster to fight, and a crook to catch.  Gotham City need not fear, but its villains should be very afraid, for I am out to get them. 

I am the protector of the weak and helpless, the guardian of Gotham, the Dark Knight.  I am Batman!"  (From the book, Batman.  The Story of the Dark Knight by Ralph Cosentino)

Michelle is going to kill me!

Mike here. I have hacked into the site. As Michelle has written, we continue to struggle with getting Ryan to be a good eater. Tonight we had a little taste of N'awlins with sausage, red beans and rice for dinner. In an effort to get Ryan to eat, Michelle made a strange deal with him. If he finished his dinner she would run around the house five times acting like a chicken. I'm sure she never thought Ryan would eat everything. As you can see Ryan finished his dinner...

PS - Hopefully I will ride this out in the basement...if I am never seen again help Michelle get off with an insanity plea...because she is an awesome mom.

PPS - Sorry it is sideways.

Pumpkins And Other Spooky Fun

Our annual trip to Baugher's Pumpkin Patch was a bit abbreviated this year since both boys had been sick for several days prior to our visit.  Although they were feeling better, they lacked their usual energy and enthusiasm.  Since we went on the last day that pumpkin picking was available, the selection was scant to say the least.  Everything had been picked over and most of what was left was starting to rot.  Luckily, the boys were able to find a few that met their approval.

In addition to pumpkin picking and carving, we also celebrated the holiday by decorating the house with ghost lights and pumpkin and bat garland.  We also made Halloween pancakes, cookies, and crafts.

Gavin, the task master, is focused on finding the perfect pumpkin.  He refuses to be distracted by Mom's pleas for a quick picture.  He knows the Ravens game is about to start and he has no patience for our dilly dallying.



He eventually concedes and smiles sweetly for a picture with the pumpkin he picked out.



Then it's back to the task at hand.  He directs us to the line for the hayride back to our car.

Our "punkins" with their pumpkins!

Gavin plants a sloppy wet kiss on Ryan's cheek.  And we wonder why they both seem to get sick at the same time?!  Guess it's a small price to pay for brotherly love!

Ryan, with a little help from Daddy and a lot of encouragement from Gavin, paints his pumpkin.  I thought the use of washable paints was brilliant until we put the pumpkin on the front steps and it rained for the first time! 



We made breakfast for dinner using Halloween-shaped pancake molds.  Ryan's job was to sprinkle (which he interpreted as "dump") chocolate chips into the pancake batter.  I think his strategy was three in the mouth for every one in the pancake!

Ryan poses with his bat and ghost-shaped pancakes.  Luckily, he drowned them in chocolate syrup so he probably never noticed they were partially burnt!

Ryan and Mommy assembled a haunted house foam kit.  Mommy constructed the house while Ryan added the spooky decorations!  

The sleeves are pushed up and he's ready to scoop out pumpkin guts!

Gavin prefers to use a spoon for the dirty work!

Boys being boys

Ryan finds pumpkin guts far slimier and grosser than he imagined.  Notice that he "acquired" the spoon from Gavin.

The boys quickly grew bored with the pumpkin carving and enertained themselves by unrolling an entire roll of paper towels that was intended for wiping messy hands and cleaning up afterward!  It's amazing the trouble they can get into when they know Mommy and Daddy are elbow-deep in pumpkin guts!

"Guys, can you quiet down, I'm on the phone!" (He pushed redial, so we're not sure who he was talking to!)

Ryan requested a carving of Batman standing on top of a building in Gotham City.  He compromised for an outline sketch that Daddy traced from one of his coloring books.  Daddy worked late into the night perfecting his masterpiece.

Daddy poses with the finished product. 

Here it is illuminated in the dark so you can appreciate the detail!   

Cheerio Fiasco

Ryan is typically a bit slow to fully wake up from his afternoon nap.  Today was no exception.  Since he's still recovering from being sick, he was extra clingy today.  He stumbled downstairs bleary eyed from his nap and crawled into my lap for some cuddle time.  As we were snuggling on the couch, I could hear Gavin rooting through the pantry.  I didn't give it much thought since it seems like he unloads the pantry daily.  I did, however, make a mental note to make it a priority to put child safety locks on the pantry doors.

 After hearing a few crashes from the kitchen, Ryan whispered, "maybe we should go check on Gavin."  I assured him that everything was fine; that Gavin had most likely discovered the unopened bag of Halloween candy and was preoccupied with figuring out a way to open it.    Obviously the more responsible one of the two of us, Ryan decided to check on him anyway.  He tiptoed into the kitchen.  I then heard him gasp, "Mommy, I think you're going to want to see this."  I did not respond as quickly as you'd expect - I figured no one was seriously hurt or maimed since I hadn't heard any blood-curdling shrieks.  Therefore, I reasoned I was about to discover a disastrous mess.  Here is what I found:

Gavin had dumped an entire bag of Cheerios all over the pantry floor!  To his credit, he was trying to clean up by putting smashed fistfuls of Cheerios into the crock pot and Daddy's insulated lunch bag.  (We'll be finding Cheerio bits for weeks!)  Deciding it would be fun to help clean up, the boys scrambled for the vacuum cleaner and wet mop.  In their haste, they stepped on the pile of Cheerios, grinding them into a fine powder.  Naturally, they quickly lost interest, and then tracked Cheerio dust through the rest of the downstairs as they looked for toys to play with.  Guinness, the canine vacuum cleaner, snorted as many as he could inhale before he was shooed away.  I'm still waiting for him to vomit.  And, the man who was coming to give us an estimate on having our Palladian window tinted called to say he was a few minutes out!  All in a days' work!

Gavin's First Haircut

On Tuesday, October 19th (one day shy of his 16 month birthday), we took Gavin to Salon Kids in Pikesville for his first hair cut.  Earlier that day, Mike admitted that he wasn't sure that he was ready to have all of Gavin's curls cut off.  Initially, I thought he was joking since he's the one who has been encouraging me to schedule the appointment.  But, he explained the boys are growing up too quickly and he's not ready to let go of Gavin's "baby stage" just yet.  I was happy to compromise since I, too, was reluctant to cut off all those beautiful blond curls.  We asked the stylist to trim the long, shaggy bangs that hung in his eyes and to take off some of the length without removing the curls altogether.  We were pleased with the outcome, but realize he'll probably need another haircut before the holidays!  After both boys had their hair cut, Mike surprised us with dinner at one of our favorite restaurants, Smokys BBQ, where we all enjoyed pit ham and turkey sandwichs. 

BEFORE - CRAZY CURLS

THE FIRST FEW SNIPS (*SNIFF  SNIFF*)

AFTER - NOW WE CAN SEE THAT HANDSOME FACE!

(Disclaimer:  Mike and I are clearly exhausted.  He worked an overnight shift the night before and I have been getting up with the one or both of the boys in the 5 o'clock hour for a couple of weeks now!  Also, we tried to get Gavin to pose for an "after" picture outside of the hair salon, but he obviously had no interest in that!  He's at that age where he does not want to be confined to a carset or highchair, restrained for a diaper change, or made to stand still for a picture!)

MEMORY LANE

Just for fun, I thought I'd share a few photos from Ryan's first hair cut.  He had his first hair cut about two and a half years ago at the same place.  Ryan was about 17.5 months old when he had his first hair cut.  I think the boys look remarkably similar in these photos and we look far younger and more well rested!  Hopefully the next 2-3 years will be kinder and we'll age a bit more gracefully!

Before

During

After