stella, birthdays, "woo woo" & jackman!

**First, ridiculous huge thank you to everyone who commented on my last post, called, texted, etc. to congratulate us on a year with the Eye. I cannot tell you enough what your encouragement means to me. I feel like we moms are all in this parenting thing together & the person who needs a little boost sort of rotates around, so thank you for letting it me be me last week. I love you all! Thank you:) And, (I am terrified of writing this) things have not been quite as awful lately with the patch. I will say no more out of fear, but just wanted to share**

I can't believe I have not announced this yet! My best friend, Emily, is preggers with my niece, Stella! Emily is due in March & is so cute pregnant in pictures. I can't wait to see her in just a few weeks! Here is a link to Emily's blog One of my favorite things about Emily is her ability to make me laugh on a constant basis & I love that she started a blog so I can have more of her! And, I wanted to mention this in the eye post, but didn't think Em would remember it. But, I read her comment & realized she did.. Anyway, when the redneck kid laughed at Anderson I (of course) called Nicole hysterical crying. We are talking unable to speak crying. Emily was visiting her & got on the phone & after listening to my story she said, "I want a baby." I love it because my grief/sorrow/emotion for my baby was clearly so strong that she realized she wanted to feel that way about someone. Of course, she already did because she is just destined to be a rock star mom, but reading her comment makes me realize how wonderful parenthood really is. Welcome to being a mommy, Emily!!

Noni celebrated her birthday last week! Anderson, of course, got to assist with the fun part.

Cute new haircut!

Bop also celebrated his birthday last week! (He likes eclairs, I wasn't just totally boring). Anderson, again, assisted with the fun part.

Love a father/daughter pic. Side note: Also, love a father/daughter dance. Huge perk of Catholic high school!

Anderson is very into trains lately. I blame his genetic makeup that predicted he would obsess over anything with wheels, his cousin, Jacob, who shared his train set, and his BFF, Jack, who also has the same obsession. He has very specific noises for the trains that are hard to type. Sort of "ch, ch, ch...woo woo." He gets angry if you try to make another noise.

Riding the coal car at the mall with Dad.

He literally stood there so I could take a picture. Stood. Still.

big boy bed update:

1. How precious is this sleeping boy? It still blows my mind that he just lays there on his pillow.

2.He goes to sleep in his bed like a champ. Seriously, I am afraid to write this out of fear that the jinx gods are out to get my family, but he really does go to sleep very well. He climbs in bed, demands the tractor blanket, gives us kisses and is off to his dreams of all things transportation.

3. If only those dreams would last. He has been waking up precisely at 4:36 almost every morning. It has been over 3 weeks since we switched out of the crib & he still has not caught on the staying asleep thing. He has slept until 5:15 or so a few times, which gives me hope. Since we reversed the lock, I really try to make him stay in his room until at least 5:30. He just stands at the door crying/yelling. Assuming it is a phase. "Hoping" would be a better word. A bit worried about the patch time we are losing, but I am trying to break him of this, which is really an investment in him not being grumpy. Grumpy usually equals a way harder time with the patch. Anyway, it is what it is.

Despite the train fascination, he still loves his bobcat & dump truck! Both are from Aunt LoLo, who has a knack for finding some perfect stuff for him. He is such a classic boy. Trucks, tractors, trains. No discrimination for this kid.

I gave my mom this key chain with a magnet & he ran & hooked it onto his train! This is currently the only Thomas train that he has, but I am pretty sure Santa found a really good sale at AC Moore on a lot more trains. My friend, Jeannie, told me all the advice we need to begin our journey into the world of Thomas & best part was to have girl trains that are expendable to share with friends. Ha!

Clare had a Christmas dinner party for us & decorated everything so, so cute. I tried to take a pic of the festivities, but this is the best angle that I could get. Her family has a tradition of English crackers that have crowns in them (am I explaining this right?) & we got to do it, too! I think Brandon was glad to eat a delicious dinner (I am not a cook) & Anderson was so happy to play with Jack & his trains!

Speaking of, Anderson got his present early & Aunt Clare got him a Thomas pirate ship set!! It is awesome & he loves it so much. Pirates & trains!

"Woo woo" in action.

And, an awesome video of Jack & Anderson acting goofy. Just a shot of the madness.