Just the other day I realized that my last entry here involved some snow. It hasn’t really snowed since December, and now it’s April, and well, the fact that it’s been that long just got me a little depressed. I quickly cut myself some slack, because life around here has been pretty full, and it’s really not that ridiculous that I haven’t remembered to blog (much less remember I even HAVE a blog).
Since my last post:
- I found out I was pregnant. Ryder was 3 months old when I discovered my delicate condition.
- Liam was visited by the “Paci Fairy” who kindly replaced all of his pacifiers with a couple of really cool toys.
- We decided to put our house on the market.
- We moved in with my parents, to make showings easier on everyone (except for my parents, obviously).
- I traded my awesome Honda Element for a Kia minivan. A VERY sad day, although I’m proud to say I actually love the thing now.
- Between the 2 of them, Liam and Ryder have had a total of 8 ear infections. I’ve had 2.
- Liam turned 3.
- Liam got potty trained. (Soared through our 3 day boot camp with the driest of undies.)
- Ryder is almost 8 months old and has become a small boy, no longer really my baby. He eats solid food like a horse.
- We found out this new baby is another boy.
Although the days and nights are still so very long much of the time, I believe these are years and seasons I don’t want to forget. Yes, they’re hard. They’re anything but glamorous; we’re simply SURVIVING most days. They’re already a blur, as my brain is complete mush and I tend to want to hurry or sleep through them, quickly waking up to a day I’ll feel more human. But these times are sacred. They’re stripping and burning away parts of me I never even knew I had. These days will teach me to really laugh, cry, rest, and rejoice. These days bring out the Holy. I’ve already become much more like that 80 year old version of myself I’m so dying to meet…
My hope is to start writing again… To once again record these memories as they’re being made. Tonight I’m tired, and I need to go to bed. In the meantime, until I get my blogging act together, please go meet a dear friend of mine who just started his incredible journey of hiking the Appalachian Trail. I am proud to introduce you to him. His name is Chris. You’ll find him at www.2200miles.com.
It’s pretty funny to me that Liam already gets the concept of Santa. We’ve never told him the story, we’ve never given him details. Really, all we’ve told him is that the jolly, plump man in the red clothes… well, his name is Santa Claus.
Last year, it was Ho Ho. Uncle Ho Ho, to be precise. Liam actually has an Uncle Ho Ho, a (mostly) jolly man with a white beard, and when the little St. Nicks started popping up all over the place, Liam would point and say “Ho Ho! Untul Ho Ho!” Douglas (Uncle Ho Ho) loved the idea of potentially getting all the credit for the Christmas surprises in the years to come. That didn’t continue, though, as this year Liam knows (and explains to me regularly) about the reindeer, the chimney, the flying sleigh. It’s amazing how this kind of information just comes with being a child. The wonder, the excitement, the imagination, the magic. I love it!
He still has just one little detail a bit off, and I’m kind of hoping it’ll never change. He doesn’t get the whole toy piece. Last Saturday, we planned to have breakfast with Santa. In preparation for the occasion, I was discussing with my little man about Old Saint Nick.
I asked, “What does Santa do? Does he bring you toys?”
“No, no, no!!” Liam said. “He just comes to my house and plays with my toys with me!”
Sigh. Melt. Give my son all kinds of gushy kisses. It’s so sweet, and I wonder how long before he joins all the other kids and will want only Santa’s toys instead of his quality time. Hopefully not too soon. I also wonder where we’re going to find a Santa to come play toys with us.
We did go and have breakfast with Mr. C, and Liam was ridiculously excited to bring his favorite cars with him, so he and Santa could play. Silly Santa didn’t get it AT ALL and was trying to convince Liam he must have brought those cars to show him what he wants more of. I wanted to whop him on the head. Liam kept asking him to play, to share… and Santa kept saying, “What do you want, little guy?” He wasn’t even listening. Idiot. As you can see in the photos, it OBVIOUSLY wasn’t the real guy. I’m holding out hope that the REAL Santa will hear my little man’s request.
After the miscommunication with Santa Claus, we went outside for some pony rides, where Liam was a real cowboy, riding the range…
Until I write more… Watch this. Pretty please.
Now visit Blood: Water Mission. Make a donation. Get someone else involved in the giving. Pretty please with a cherry on top.
I just finished writing this amazing bit to post here. Somehow, something went wonky and I lost everything I’d written. Because I’m still insanely hormonal and ridiculously tired, and also because sitting down to write is an invaluable luxury, the moment I saw my words had been deleted, I lost it. My little whimpers soon turned to cries and screaming and slamming doors. I overheard Liam say to Scott, “Wait! I’ve got to go to the rescue! Somebody’s in trouble! It’s Mommy! She needs my help!” Awesome. That’s fabulous. In about 20 years I’ll just hand his poor therapist my blog address, right? My tantrum quickly turned when L asked me to cheer up. He also gave me some tips on getting happy. He told me that when he gets angry and frustrated, jumping on the bed and doing lots of kisses really helps. We did, and it did… He’s a smart little cookie.
Liam actually grasped (and was THRILLED) about the concept of trick or treating this year. As soon as the pumpkins and “jack-o-lanterins” started popping up throughout the stores and neighborhoods, he would daily announce, “It’s getting closer to Halloween, Mommy!!” He and I had a date early on in the month, and he got to choose the activity. He requested we go on a “pumpkin hike.” He wanted to go to a real pumpkin patch, but none were open during the week, so we settled for a nearby roadside fruit/vegetable market, and that seemed to do the job just fine… He chose a couple of small pumpkins and we brought them to Pop Pop’s to give them a couple of painted pumpkin faces. My dad had the brilliant (note sarcasm) idea of painting one as a witch, and from then on, Liam has had a witch obsession. We’d already purchased his dream costume (a ridiculously expensive Buzz Lightyear suit) but after the witch pumpkin all that was tossed out the window. He told us repeatedly that he wanted to “dress up of a spooky witch and scare all the little children of the world”. By the time we were actually ready to suit up and go to door to door, though, he was thankfully back on his Buzz kick. We weren’t going to put Ryder in costume, but Liam was getting pretty stressed about him being “plain baby Ryder” and I found an adorable pea pod get up, and I soon agreed with Liam. Plain baby Ryder just wouldn’t work for Halloween.
Scott has been traveling quite a bit. We’re thankful for the work, but it’s been a big adjustment for all of us as he’s back on the road. We were able to make it to the pumpkin patch for a REAL pumpkin hike over Scott’s one weekend home, and he actually drove all through the night the following weekend and was able to join us for the local Pumpkin Fest. We’re holding on tightly to these warm little moments and tucking them away for when the time apart is long and lonely…
P.S. In order for this post-a-day thing to actually be manageable, photos are no longer getting edited. AT ALL. Bear with me.
I have fallen way behind. I have great intentions, lots to blog about, but hardly any time. When I’m not chasing Liam around or making lunches or feeding Ryder, there are dishes to be washed, floors to be swept, laundry to be folded, showers to be had, husbands to be kissed… Well, there’s just one husband to kiss, but you get the point. The daunting task of uploading/ editing photos, logging in, and then uploading those photos to my account here with some cleverly written text… it just feels exhausting. Consequently, blogging= bottom of the list. So I have decided I need a little motivation to get back on the blogging train. I’m going to finally brave the NaBloPoMo, 30 posts in 30 days. (Thanks for the motivation, Annie!)
Apparently I thought October had 32 days, as I was well aware of when Halloween was, but still thought today (2 days after trick-or-treating) was November 1. I’ll post 2 entries today to catch up. Anyone else want to join me in the fun?
Liam, 2 weeks old
Ryder, 7 weeks old
