Emergencies.

Our house has been on fire a lot recently. Well, on "tire" actually. Anderson has started to ignore his vast collection of construction equipment and has quickly immersed himself in the world of all things rescue: Fire trucks, police cars and ambulances. He loves putting out fires, but he can't completely pronounce F, so it comes out as "tire." Precious. Fireman Sam, is a Scottish (Welsh?) cartoon that comes on Sprout. Unfortunately, each episode only lasts 11 minutes. Fortunately, we can find old episodes on YouTube & Netflix. 

Watching real firetrucks on the ipad. He loves to watch youtube clips and then re-enact them. He also loves any kind of actual water, like the hose or the sprayer on the sink, because he pretends he is putting out fires all over the place. The absolute highlight of our day is if we see an ambulance or fire truck with the sirens going. I always tell him that I made that happen because he has been so good/pooped in the potty/etc. I am very sad for the day when he realizes I am not really magical.

There is a fire station pretty close to us and we promised him he could there if he pooped in the potty. Interesting how quickly that happened once there was a legit prize.

 Police cars, too!

Love this no patch shot! Thank you, 4 hours!

Bonus trip to Bham

We made a little weekend trip to Birmingham to see some of our favorite people! I am calling it a "bonus" trip because I wasn't planning on going back after his eye doc appointment, but we just decided there were some people we had to see! You might remember the Hill family from the "they hooked us up with Dr. Cogen who is saving Anderson's eye" fame. Well, they are also the most hospitable, generous, fun people who happen to have a lake house! How great is this welcoming sign?

This pretty much summed up our time there. Bowman, Olivia (Blue Girl) & Savannah just loved our kids and played with them. We didn't see much of Hayden or Harrison on this trip, but next time we will!

This had the potential to turn a bit scary once Anderson found the key.

A little rain never stopped a bug from playing outside!

This was supposed to be the 3 of us, but somehow I can't find that one! Is this because I don't have an iphone, Savannah?? Seriously, I love Savannah. She is just one of those people you just want to hang out with and you know she is really doing you a favor by hanging out with you because she is just that awesome. 

They even put up with the not so great moments from our kids.

Love it!

Anderson kept thanking me for taking him to the beach.

How great is this pic? Anderson kept pointing out every time we saw a boat. Every time. We were on a lake. There were a lot of boats. Sherri is this totally laid back mom who just makes toddler tantrums so minor. Plus, she buys Anderson fun treats like pirate towels and Cars bags:)

He LOVED the boat.

For only pennies a day, you can provide green popsicles for this child...Seriously, I love his little face but doesn't he sort of remind you of those commercials?

It was too much. We love you, Hill family!!

The only downside of the weekend was the time in the car. These 2 actually shared a bit, which was sort of revolutionary.

After our exciting lake time with the Hills we went to see the Bishop fam for a night. Kyler really stepped it up by playing fire trucks with Anderson. This is a rough game because you have to make the exact sound or Anderson will keep correcting you.

Yogurt Mountain. Anderson ran in the house screaming, "uncle zack!" Was precious.

Cute pic of Aunt Manda. Anderson looks a bit confused.

We stopped at a rest stop about 45 minutes away from home because we literally could not take it any longer. It was an awesome time, but they had reached their limit. We found a Taco Bell/KFC shortly after we left there, which helped boost our moods significantly.

ledge.

scrapblog entry. not that interesting, just for my own personal recollection. one day, when he sleeps until noon, I will laugh at/possibly be jealous of myself at this point. Also, I have no idea why the typing is weird and certain words are highlighted. 

Me. If I was a weird colored frog.

Anderson is seriously the BEST thing in the world. 

He is seriously the WORST sleeper. 

Grrrr. 

A normal night with him includes this routine:

8-8:30- start calming down (this is difficult. the boy has a lot of energy)

8:30-9- begin the process of putting him to bed (brush his teeth, use the potty, read a book, night light, sound machine, Scout playing music)

9-anywhere between 9:30-10:15-I sit on a pillow on the floor in the living room (it is literally right outside of his room, so he can still see me) and ignore him every time he gets up to tell me one of the following: 

Cover me up, Scout fell off the bed, I need a drink/snack, I have to go pee pee, What are you eating, Bobble?, I need some medicine, I need another blanket, I heard a siren!, etc.  He eventually falls asleep. 

1:30, 2:30, 3:30, etc: He wakes up. If it is a good night, he will only be up once, which is awesome/still pretty sad because he is freaking 2 1/2. He appears next to my side of the bed and usually scares the absolute crap out of me and I bring him back to his bed. I turn on Scout and sit on his floor for 10-15 minutes until he falls back asleep. Sometimes, I fall asleep there, too. That is the worst because apparently sleeping on the floor as an adult isn't quite as good to your body as it was in middle school.  I go back to my bed and then he usually will re-appear again about 2 hours later. Repeat. 

5:45 ish: He wakes up and is READY to go! The boy has a built in alarm clock, I think. 

So, there you have it. I realize that this has the potential to be 8 hours of sleep and I should be happy with this. And, I would be (probably not) if it was uninterrupted sleep! He is tired. 

If you are thinking that I should start his bedtime routine earlier, not sit outside of his door/in his room, lock him in his room, make him cry, not give in, or anything in vicinity of "TRAINING" him to sleep better, then congrats to you on having awesome kids. We have been battling this sleep thing basically since he was born, but really intensely since Nov. when we switched out of the crib. I read somewhere during my obsessive stalking of the internet about this that the worst thing you can do is move them to a toddler bed before they are ready to understand to stay in it, at least after 2. I kept reading, waiting for the part about what to do if your kid is part mountain climber and saw the crib as practice by 18 months. Nothing. 

The point is, we made him cry it out and it worked  well  when he was little. He always woke up early, but he slept through the night! We reversed his lock to trap him in his room, which also worked for a few weeks. But, a 2 1/2 year old is not a 12 week old. He is stubborn and clearly doesn't care if he is going to sleep. 3-5 hours of crying at night will take a toll on your life/sanity, so we have figured out a way that works for us. I sit on a pillow and read (or do one of my 9 million blog posts) and, while it is frustrating, it's much better than the alternative. It works because I am sitting and doing something. 

Anyway, I was sitting there last night thinking about how ridiculous this is and the patch saved me. Last summer I was hanging on the ledge by one little webbed foot because of how IMPOSSIBLE it was to keep the patch on him. Now (I am not talking to you, jinx gods!) it is a manageable (still the hardest thing ever, but not impossible like it used to be) situation. What if...just what if...next summer he is sleeping better?? AAGHH! It is too much. But, I think it will actually happen. This is not the best time with sleeping as I cannot actually remember the last time he slept through the night (Feb?), BUT I can leave him alone for minutes at a time and he doesn't take the patch off. This is HUGE and I would take this over sleeping any night of the week. Plus, I think if given the choice between the kid who is creative/active enough to climb out of the crib and one who isn't at all interested, I would choose my bug every time. 

So, there you have it. I am on the ledge because I have a non sleeping, eye patch wearing 2 year old. But, it is a pretty cushy ledge with a pillow, a book, a computer & usually an adult beverage of some kind, so it works out pretty well. 

imoms needed!

imoms! I need your help. One of my old sorority sisters (delta 3, delta tri...) has a precious little Addie who just found out she has to patch. This is, as we all know, very traumatic for her (the mom, not Addie!) She was born premature (25 weeks!) and has already overcome so much just to be here. Her mom is handling everything so well, but an eyepatch thrown in the mix definitely poses another hurdle.

So, would you all mind maybe posting an encouraging comment on her blog?

http://sweetangelbaby25weeks.blogspot.com/

I told her about you, so she will know who you are. I figured I could sponsor her membership into the "imom" club!

Thanks!!

random times.

Anderson's imaginary friend, a green baby whale named Beluga, makes regular appearances now. This pic is a little blurry because I have to sneak up on him or he puts Beluga away. I think it is precious that he has such an imagination. (As long as Beluga isn't still with us when he is 9, I think we are ok, right?)

 Lily was here for a bit last week & we colored finger puppets. Please notice how she gave the puppet with the glasses an eyepatch! LOVE!

Huge tantrums. Part of most days. Is it just me or is being 2 a bit of a rough time in a kid's life?

$1 movie at Regal during the summer. We saw Rango, which was nowhere worth $1.

 Bop is the best playground.

Junior Cheer Camp was last week, which meant my evenings were spent at FHS watching my amazing cheerleaders become the heroes to 88 little cheerleaders. I love this week because it reminds me, yet again, how wonderful teenagers are. This was "Farmer night" and it was during the end of the day when everyone jumps around to "Go Bananas" & "Ice Cream and Cake." Seriously, if you saw the patience the cheerleaders had for these little girls, you would just be in love with all of them. Wonderful times.

 Bubbles.

 Visiting Bop at IHOP. He is a celebrity.

 "Cow Appreciation Day" at Chickfila! There is very little I won't do to get free Chickfila & dressing like a cow took very little effort.

Garbage truck day still consumes our week. 

Fun Anderson Comments/Actions

A few of my favorite Anderson things lately...

-Anderson: "Bobble, why are you so mad?"
-Me (I was on the phone, just talking normally): "I'm not mad, baby."
-Anderson: "You are too loud! Don't be so loud! You are so loud!"


If he is good at church he gets a doughnut and it takes this promise (and lots of patience) to get him to sit still at all. A baby started crying last week and he said really loudly, "I guess that baby isn't going to get a doughnut now."


"I don't want to be a pirate. I want to be an ambulance driver or police officer." Said to me as I was handed an eyepatch. The pirate gig is up. Next step is get Brandon to convince some first responders to wear a patch for a bit so we can convince Anderson to keep his on.


He has been watching The Incredibles a lot lately and has decided that his glasses are like the eye mask Mr Incredible wears. Now, he will put his glasses on top of his head and then mumble to himself before pulling them back down and racing off. You gotta hand it to him. When life hands you glasses, become a superhero... I do love that movie because the only time he is a superhero is when his "glasses" are on. The other day Brandon said, "I am the biggest superhero!" And, Anderson said, "No, you don't have glasses, so you can't be a superhero!" I know it is just a matter of time before he realizes this isn't true, but how great that he thinks this??


Brandon doesn't usually wear his uniform to work because he is an Investigator, so Anderson just saw him for the first time in a long time in his uniform as he got ready to leave the other night for a security job. It was hilarious. He said, "Daddy! You're a REAL police officer!"

my new favorite pics.

TWO 1/2

Anderson at 2 1/2...

Likes: narrating his life to anyone who will listen, watching Finding Nemo, reading books,occasionally peeing in the potty, playing in water in any form, throwing sand/dirt/rocks, drinking chocolate milk, jumping on or off of anything, running, construction equipment, Monday (garbage men day), hugs, interacting with people, going on walks , fire trucks, tow trucks, trains, snakes, his animal towels (snake, lion, monster), Dora, Diego & Wow Wow Wubzy (the fireman episode only), telling everyone exactly what he is thinking.

Dislikes: sitting still, wearing an eyepatch, pooping in the potty, eating, peeing in the potty, most food, sleeping, not getting his way

Sleeping: You may remember from basically the past 2 1/2 years that Anderson is not a sleeper. At all. He is not averaging about 7.5-8 hours TOTAL a day. He is exhausted, which really doesn't help provide calmness to an already intense personality. Oh, and that little chunk of time is not even straight through. Most nights it is 9:30-5:30 or 10-6, with at least one wake up call appearing next to my bed during the night.

I have really just adjusted to the lack of sleep (Brandon might disagree) because it seems to be getting less and less, which is sort of scary. I knew it was bad when I felt rested instead of jet lagged after traveling to Europe! Due to time changes & 3 flights, we were traveling 28 hours straight on the way home & everyone else seemed exhausted by my little cat naps of 30 minutes here & there seemed just like home, so I was ready to go!

I have given up on calling this a phase. It is my life & I just have to accept it or I'm going to dwell in the misery of comparing him to other kids who are sleeping 9 hours a night or taking a nap or BOTH! (Does that even exist? Surely not.) Anyway, I went through the phase of telling myself it won't last forever, one day he will be a teenager and you'll wish he woke up, nobody goes to college still getting up at 5, etc. Didn't help. Neither did people/internet's advice on what works for THEIR kid. Everyone is different and sometimes people just luck up and get good sleepers. Most kids aren't as much fun as Anderson, so there's that, too. :)

Potty Training: You might remember SIX months ago when we started potty training & it was going pretty well. Hmmm. I don't remember that too well, possibly because  I have spent the last 2 months cleaning poop off the floor so maybe my brain is clogged with carpet cleaning chemicals?

For some reason, Anderson has totally regressed with the toilet situation. We have tried offering rewards (toys, going to Dollywood to ride the train, etc.), taking stuff away (his fire trucks, bulldozer & ambulances are just sitting here until he poops in the potty) and just stalking him. For whatever reason, he is not interested.

Contrary to the sleeping thing, I know this is a phase. 

What is your favorite food? chicken

Color? green

Construction? bobcat, no ambulance & police car and fire engine (it's good he is decisive)

Truck? fire engine truck and race car

Person? Daddy (awesome)

Dog? Chloe. she's so soft!

Thing to do? play with my ambulance (which is currently in the "don't get it until you poop bucket")

my favorite things...

*When I am looking for him he always says, "Right hewe!" in the cutest little voice.

*His imaginary friend is a baby whale named Beluga. He carries him in his hands & takes the whole situation very seriously.

*"bobble? Bobble? BOBBLE? oh, there you are. " (LOVE the fact that I am still his Bobble!)

*"Let's read it, again!"

*"Oh, thank you, Bobble!" (randomly for buckling him in the carseat or putting his shirt on or something random. Then, the next time he will throw a huge fit!)

*he likes cherry tomatoes!

*His fascination by spider webs, boo boos, snakes and big buildings

*me:"Are you ready?" A: "Yes, I are ready."

 Attempts at a shot of him at 2 with his bear. I remember trying when he first turned 2 and he wouldn't cooperate & I decided to just wait 6 months because it would probably be easier. Oh, naivete.

little video of his flipping "skills"

Decade.

As a history nerd I am a pretty big fan of most of the decades of the past few centuries. I have a hard time deciding on my favorite, though. I like the 1870's time of Laura Ingalls Wilder, the early 20th Century with Teddy Roosevelt, the WWII era, the music of the1960's, the 1980's with the Reagan conservatism. It is too much. But, I have decided that my favorite decade is that last one; it's the decade I've spent with my husband! We've only been married 6 years, but we've been together for 10 this year. An entire decade. He is so lucky. Kidding. Since this is my scrapblog, I wanted to document a bit of our past, so here is a picture or 2 from each year of the last 10! They are totally random because a lot of my pics were on a picture site that is changing and I can't access them right now. Grrr...

2002 We met working at TGIFriday's where we both worked. I fell in love the first time I saw him leaning against the giant Santa on the wall. His right foot was propped up against the wall.Sigh. Love at first sight really is an understatement when it happens to you. I kept looking for the pic of him standing like that but couldn't find it. Then I realized it wasn't actually a real picture, just a ridiculously clear memory stamped in my brain. Ha ha!

I took him skydiving for his first present from me because I knew we were soulmates & wanted to start it off right. That is not him attached to me. That would be Eduardo, my tandem partner. Who did not speak English. Awesome.

This is a badly scanned copy of the 2 of us.

 My dorm room!!

Not entirely sure if this was 2002 or 03, but it was somewhere around there. 

 2003

UT game

Cookout at Emily's!

 2004

I think we were at the circus here. Maybe. Not sure.

Nicole & Hughes' wedding! I caught the bouquet. I guess it worked.

We bought Chloe together, which was clearly an very intelligent decision as it bound us together over our slightly satanic puppy. She is wonderful, but, wow. She was a crazy puppy.

He completed RCIA that year! Love some Catholics:)

Slip & Slide time when my nephews were visiting

 2005

Graduation from the Police Academy! So proud of him for being so unselfish & working to protect others.Being married to a person in law enforcement is it's own sort of world. Let's just say there is a reason the phrase is "Banker's hours" and not "Police Officer's hours" (or as Nicole & Jessica are thinking, "Doctor's hours") Anyway, the hours are crazy, the work is varied & he wears a bullet proof vest to work. He is truly so unselfish & works so hard to provide for  us and keep the world (or Knoxville, anyway) safe.

Engaged! I was completely & totally surprised. Literally didn't even shower before dinner. I had no idea. 

 2006

The wedding. Love. 

The honeymoon! In hindsight we should've saved the money & gone on a vacation now when we are really tired and just need to lay around not doing anything.

How tan were we? Very. 

 2007

Christmas!

We got our Gabs & became a family of 4. 

 2008

Lucky us. We chaperoned a trip to Europe called "Battlefields of Europe" & the best stop was Omaha Beach in Normandy. Pappaw fought there during WWII so we wanted to thank him for his service. One of my favorite pics ever.

Looks fake. It's not. My hair would not look like that if I photoshopped this. 

2009

Another year, another trip:) Seriously, our lives are really not as exciting as these pics look. We did have so much fun on this trip.

We went to Italy & Greece

Brandon turned 30 & I gave him a surprise party

And, we found out I was pregnant! (That made for a fun time hiking around the ruins of Greece:)

It was also the year I temporarily had bangs. Scary. How great is this card Brandon made, though?

 2010

 Oh, that Bug. Just love all around in 2010.

The family.
2011

 First family beach trip! Hilton Head!

More Anderson than us, but isn't that what "we" really are?

We can still shake it pretty well. 


2012

The cruise! Now I really think it looks like we are some kind of hard core vacationers, but really I just have a lot of pics of us on trips because who wants to take a picture of laundry and working overtime?

So, point is, I am one lucky girl. Here's to many more decades!