Silent Sunday

{perfect family outings are, indeed, possible}

2013 {in pictures}

My loves.  My life.  I am so blessed.

Happy New Year, Friends!

happy.

Santa Claus came to our town tonight, and we were so ready.  We gave the kids a shower and put them in their pj's with promises of Santa, fire trucks, and candy.  There were all set.

We headed out about fifteen minutes before the fire department was set to come through our neighborhood, to be sure that we got a good spot to watch Santa go by.  I was sure it was going to be really crowded.  When we arrived at our spot, we were four of twelve people set to watch the parade.

Santa was running a little behind, so we hung out in the Jeep and listened to Christmas music while we watched for flashing lights.

Approximately 40 minutes after we arrived at our parade spot, the fire trucks came into view, and we all hopped out of the car, ready to cheer, and wave, and grab as much candy as we could.

The kids were so excited to see Santa, but as the fire department drove by at about 15-25 MPH, they were gone before we knew it.

And then Jack started to whimper, and Hannah looked up at me with her big, blue eyes, and said, "Why Santa no throw candy at my head?"

Apparently I remembered him throwing candy from when I was little, but he does not, in fact, throw candy in today's day and time.  Oops.  The littles were upset.

So we went home, sent the kids into the family room, and Brad and I threw leftover Halloween candy at them.  This seemed completely acceptable and fun to them, even better since we let them each eat one piece, and the rest of the night was wonderful.

Lesson learned.  Santa does not throw candy from the fire truck.

And we do not need to leave 45 minutes early to "get a good spot."

Now we know.

As we were tucking Jack in to bed tonight, he sat up and shouted, "Happy!"

I think he still had a good time - candy or not:)

Home Sweet Home

It feels good to be home.  It's cozy here, our favorite spot - just the way it's supposed to be.

We had so much fun on our beach vacation with the littles - they are at such fun ages for ocean and water park play!  And I'm proud of myself because I was really present for it, every second.  This time with them is so precious, and I cherish it.  I took some pictures, but not nearly as many as I usually do.  Why?  Because I was busy playing with my family - dodging the waves, swimming in the pool, and going down the slides.  I did take some great video clips, so we'll have to see what I can do with all of those...

Here are some of my favorite photos from our trip together - enjoy!

I'm thinking maybe we'll turn this into our yearly summer vacation spot...  Such good memories are made there!

Hannah Bear and an Early Case of the Terrible Two's

There are three reasons I haven't been back to write about the worst. night. ever. until now:

1) I've been reading The Hunger Games trilogy in rapid succession, and I can't put them down.

2) It was such an exhausting evening, the thought of writing it all down and re-living it, so to speak, seemed daunting.

3) I was hoping it was a fluke.

I can tell you that it definitely was not a fluke.

We are traveling into the terrible two's at a very fast pace with a very willful, determined, and stubborn tiny tot whose smile melts our heart.

{she hi-jacked Dylan's binky}

There doesn't seem to be any way to predict what will cause Hannah's tantrums or how long they will last or how frequently they will occur.  We are at the beck and call of a little girl who has so much to say, but can't clearly communicate everything she's thinking just yet.  Something tells me when she can, we may be in just as much trouble!

I honestly don't remember what caused the many tantrums that occurred that evening last week because since that night, they've occurred every day since, multiple times of day.  

The only part I do remember is that it mainly happened over one of Hannah's favorite dinners: kielbasa, baked beans, and corn.  She was so resilient in her fight, that at one point, she pushed her plate away, stuck her nose up in the air, and defiantly said, "Gross.  I don't like it."

That time it was because I wouldn't let her eat dinner from my lap.

But any other time?

Because she wanted to use different toothpaste.

Because she couldn't reach the book she wanted to read.

Because I wouldn't let her put the lid on her sippy cup.

Because I didn't get the right sippy cup out of the cabinet.

Because we made her hold our hands as we went across the street.

Because I wanted to take a video of the adorable sign language she was using to explain that we were taking Jack to swimming:

And so on.

It's like a minefield around these parts, and we are failing!

Even when she's not full-out throwing herself on the floor and crying, she's standing still, staring, and grunting with discontent every thirty seconds to let you know she's unhappy.

I just keep telling myself, this too shall pass.  

And it will.

But with that too, goes the little girl who says the most adorable (and sometimes, snarky) things as she's learning to talk more and more.

Hannah read to me.  (I want to read.)

Non't do that again, Mommy.  (Don't do that again, Mommy.)

I go tell Mommy on you.  (She said that one to Daddy when he wouldn't let her use a regular glass for her juice.)

Hannah go nap.  (When she's sleepy and wants to be put into bed at night...)

Pick you up.  (When she wants to be carried...)

Hannah come with you.  (When she wants to follow me everywhere, always...)

Hannah do it.  (When she wants to do something for herself...)

Jack took away.  (When Jack retrieves something she has stolen from him...)

Greasy bite you.  (When Gracie or Cuddlebug gives Hannah kisses...)

This little one is tricky, but we love her so, so much.  God help us when she's a teenager.

And so you know we're not exaggerating, we shot of short clip of one of Hannah's tantrums the other night.  This one seemed sparked by the fact I put the cookies she was asking for on the table rather than giving her the container.  We don't typically video her tantrums, but since everything else we've tried doesn't seem to make much difference, we figured it was too good to pass up.  

{Video: Hannah's Temper Tantrum #174}

Friday

Friday was a full day for us.

We had a two-hour delay due to icy roads first thing in the morning, and while I'm usually super-excited to get an extra two hours in the morning, we had so much to accomplish at work to prepare for a training on Monday, that I had to go in a little bit earlier than I normally would.  I got myself and the kids ready, packed up all of their Friday gear and snow gear for school, and off we went.  For some reason, Jack was exceptionally emotional about his clothing choices (everything was itchy or didn't fit right).  Some morning we have these problems...it's part of the reason that we recently installed an extra closet rod at Jack's height so that he can choose his own shirts.

Friday morning that didn't seem to matter, and I was starting to get worried.  I couldn't figure out exactly what was going on with him, but I tried really hard not to lose my cool (which is very hard for me in the mornings when I'm trying to shuffle us all to get ready and out the door), and by the time we got to school he was fine.  Thank goodness.

I also learned on Friday morning that my cousin survived a life-saving surgery that he was not expected to survive.  I don't quite understand all of the details, but I know that he lived through the surgery and is alert and recovering.  Doctors are still concerned and he will need more surgery, but he is a fighter and holding on.  I was so relieved to hear this news...  On Thursday I was on pins and needles while doctors were operating - the surgery lasted for over 10 hours.  My mom was in Cleveland to support her brother, and she was texting updates along the way, but it was so hard to understand what was going on and to get all the details.  Friday mornings message brought a huge sigh of relief. Please keep J.J. in your thoughts...

After receiving that message, I had one of the busiest days at work that I can remember in a long time, and at the end of the day I was exhausted.  I was a little nervous about entertaining the littles that evening since I literally could have fallen asleep anywhere, but our evening went very smoothly.

We made an easy, kiddie-pleasing dinner and watched them play before baths and bedtime.  They are at a perfect age for playing together adorably:)

Hannah went down without her binky again, but this time she cried and cried and cried, and I nearly caved.  The doctor did say she could have the binky at night time.  And she is getting new teeth.  But I held out.  I was proud.  You should be too - for that small moment.

(Because yesterday at nap time - I caved.  And now, as I type this, she is running around the room with Jack, binky firmly in place.  She will not let it go.  Probably for fear that it will disappear.  This could be tricky...)

And then there's Jack.  Our adorable Baby Jack who is growing up to be such a big boy.  He was just oozing cuteness at bedtime.  He wanted to read this story about animals that has magnets, and as you read, you're supposed to put the magnets on the page.  He loves it - it's not our favorite because of the magnets and the time.  I'm not sure what I was thinking when I bought it on one of our zoo trips, but he loves it, and I very firmly believe in letting him choose his book at bedtime even if we read the same damn book every night for a week.  I let it go.  

I had to leave the room for a bit to try to console a crying Hannah (it didn't work), so Daddy and Jack finished reading the book and then Daddy somehow convinced Jack to leave the magnets in place so that next time we can just read the story:)

When they were explaining this to me, Daddy said something to the effect of, "Then it will just be a night time story...and not a burden,"  really talking to me, and thinking that Jack would not understand this at all.

And Jack?  Jack goes, "Burdens are, like, so not awesome at all," in his dramatic teenage way, smiling from ear to ear.  How is it that they learn this dramatic teenage way in preschool, by the way?!

We laughed and kept talking.  We were talking about how on Saturday, we were going to go out and do some birthday shopping for Daddy.  Jack, proudly, leans over and whispers into my ear (loudly...loud enough for Daddy to hear and smile at me over Jack's head), "Maybe we could get him a new tool like a screwdriver or a hammer!"

And he came up with that all on his own.  Such a kind heart...

After I left, Jack and Daddy were snuggling for a few extra minutes, and later Daddy told me this part:

Daddy was snuggling Jack, and whispered, "You're the best little boy in the world."

"I know," Jack replied.

Kind, and modest, to boot!

***** 

On Saturday, I got to wake up to this:

It doesn't get any better than that...