2013-the year Max was born

I never remember things in terms of the year that they happened. Rather, it has always been, "The year I started college", "my internship year", "when we started dating", "the birthday that we surprised Nicole & drove there", "the year from hell that Anderson was patching all day, etc. So, 2013 will most likely go down as "the year of the Mister"

I have literally already forgotten if there were any major events, but I am going to try to list the top events on my radar.

2012 Apparently, I did this last year?


The arrival of the icing at 5:06pm on May 9. This one has changed my life in so many ways and I will eternally be in love with him for completing our family. Our cake was already pretty yummy (funfetti variety, if I had to choose), so the fact that Max made it even better speaks to his perfectness, cuteness and chubbiness, in general. He is so snuggly and so squishy that I am almost* okay with the fact that he still does not sleep through the night. It has been so, so much fun to watch Anderson become a big brother and there is truly nothing more wonderful than watching the man I love with our babies. It sounds cheesy, but it is true.

*I really am ok with it, but I am just tired at 2am, 3am, 4am, etc. so I feel like I need to say almost

**He has literally had ear infections for the last 3 months straight, so it is not his fault, which is why I think I am ok with it

***If he curled up with you, this would all make sense

"I am going to drastically reduce your patching time." said to us by the DOC. Casually. His back to us. Just as I will never forget the moment of Mr. Max arriving, I swear this moment is burned on my memory. I CANNOT BELIEVE WE ARE ONLY PATCHING 3 HOURS A DAY. Every single day, I am shocked and grateful and, let's be honest, a little giddy when he gets to take it off at 9am. I could literally go on about this for days. Truly life changing.

* Only the imoms will understand that there is pretty much a tie between both of those events for first place...

News from JPa
Our JPa has continued to be an inspiration to all of us by refusing to back down from this awful illness that has changed all of our lives. Despite some sad news in spring 2013, Jack made it right by letting us end 2013 with positive news from his latest scan. His resilience and determination has inspired all of us and we know he is going to continue the fight.


The pie was officially cut into PIECES with the arrival of our Reese There is nothing more fun than having a baby the same age as your twin sister's. In true Sissa bear form, I was the first one to hold her (after the parents) and I am totally looking forward to being her favorite. I called dibs on her when she was born, since Amanda is pretty solidly locked as Lily's favorite. I cannot wait to see what this petite little thing is going to grow into and I will never tire of her grinny pics. Also, Nicole is really OCD and a researcher, so I also get the perks of her basically telling me/ordering for me whatever Max needs at each point.

My Goddaughter, the Goose was born in January and that whole thing about having a baby the same time as your twin, goes along with your BFF, too. I do not know where we would be without the Brimers to keep me sane and I am mostly happy to be Godmother because we are not connected for life. (A close second is that I am going to get to take Lucy to make her first Build a Bear. I already called dibs on it.) I cannot believe she is almost 1!

I got an iphone and I feel like it deserves to be a top spot. I developed the deepest crush on Steve Jobs after reading his biography (READ IT!!) and I will say that he deserves all of his accolades because I love the efficiency of my phone.

We got a PUBLIX! I don't know if it was the day that I found Enfamil formula for $1.50, the day the bakery gave me a free pie because they didn't have meringue, the day that the employee held Max so I could reach something or the day someone decided to make everything green for a certain 3 year old, but at some point, Publix changed my life and I am grateful.

Walter White Thank you, AMC. Just, thank you.


Rain. So.much.rain. This affected a lot of days because we literally could never go outside. If you have an Anderson in your house, you understand why this is a problem.


The calmness (or, at least not as crazy) Let's be honest, I have a frantic personality. I like it because it allows me to get many, many things on a daily basis. But, I feel like I have been way calmer lately and it is sort of interesting. I was really worried about having 2 kids and just the day to day life with full time jobs (Brandon & I don't exactly have 8-5 jobs) and an older brother wearing a patch and all the logistics and worry of adding another kid. And, turns out, Max truly is perfect* because I just don't care about all that like I thought I would. Of course, it still takes multiple calendars for me to keep our lives straight, I am not hanging out & watching TV (AMC shows were my only real TV choices in 2013) and I am Grumpster  by bedtime, but I am way more  relaxed than I ever thought I would be at this point. I like it.

*Also, Noni & GG are perfect because they are literally raising the second kid, which is probably why it is not as hard as I thought it would be...

I am really looking forward to 2014-a 4 year old, a 1 year old, a beach trip, an imom trip, lots of Target trips and, mostly, lots of snuggles with these 3 perfect boys and 2 furry girls in my house.

Videos

A few videos from the last few weeks.


Anderson jumping

Max at Noni's

Max jumper

Noni, Anderson & the Chicken

Anderson dancing at the basketball game

Twas the week before Christmas

 We went to a birthday party at Pump it Up and BOTH boys had so much fun! I am just really in love with this sibling business.

 Found some old stuff when I was in the attic digging for Christmas stuff. I had a brief moment where I realized that karma is very, very real, as I have had my fair share of "behavior is slipping" students in my job.

 Noni took Max to a light show one night where he saw Santa and a light up helicopter. Pretty cool!

Haircut adventure as a family. For those of you who live in Knoxville, Anderson is getting his hair cut by Ross the Boss, himself. Not that you noticed Anderson because you were SO distracted by THIS.GUY.RIGHT.HERE!

 Anderson went with me to a basketball game one night & we made a date of it by stopping at Sam's for dinner (and to buy stuff to bring to a Christmas party later that week because do not invite me somewhere and expect me to bring something homemade.) It was really such a fun night with him because he was SO good at the game. There was an incident that I had to deal with since I was technically at work and he hung out with random teachers & colored at the front office desk. He sort of lost his mind on the way home as we were stuck in some odd traffic until after 10pm, but I think that was true of everyone on the road.

Because we are true seekers of all that is festive, we hit up Dollywood with Noni to see all of the lights & decorations! After so many trips there, I feel like we are finally starting to know the layout of the park and navigate around easily. This is HUGE considering Mom & I are both really "special" with regard to directions. 

 Look at his little hands on the Carousel! This one has been to the Woods 3 times in 7 months and I am not  entirely sure what says about me as a Bobble.

 Max. As Nicole said, "I have been waiting for this moment since May."

*The other day Anderson asked me about his name and I was telling him, "You are named after Pappaw & Bop. And, Max's middle name is after Noni's dad and my Uncle." When he said, "What about Max?" I thought for a minute before I said, "The Grinch's dog."

**Max is not really named after the Grinch's dog. It is just a nice coincidence.

***Possibly, he is named after the Grinch's dog.

 One of my favorite people, Lauren, came by to visit & it was so nice to catch up with her! She was from one of my favorite classes ever and we relived stories of sending Publix cakes to Holocaust survivors and receiving shipments of cookies in class. Her sister is this amazing inspiration to everyone...watch  this link. I have signed up for the Jingle Bell Run for 3 years now to support her team and have yet to actually make it to the race, but here is looking to next year!

 I will never tire of putting babies in containers. Perhaps I was given this hobby/talent instead of any in the cooking/crafting realm?

 I just got these pictures from GG from the Santa at Town Hall visit. How much do these 2 look alike??They have the exact same chin and really just face, in general. So, so cute.

Tower full of Glovers!

 So, Max is not standing in his crib. As long as he does not try to climb out, I am good with whatever kind of party he wants to have in there.

 A visit to the ENT for This One where we found out tubes are most likely in our future. Dec. 23 is the way to make doctor appts, by the way, as we were basically the only people there.

 Today is Chloe's 10th birthday! Crazy. Anderson was giving her a doggie cookie (from noni) & she was being so patient, just waiting. I can't believe my girl is a decade old. I still remember when she peed all over us the day we picked her out. I do love some Worms.

Why I continue trying to plan activities around cooking is beyond me. 

"Come over and decorate cookies,"I said. 

"It will be fun!" I said. 

EPIC.FAIL. is what reality said. 

 Well, the Goose was there looking precious and grinny, so that was not a failure.

Meanwhile, back in Glover world, Max has somehow misplaced his pants.

Start to Christmas with the boy cousins at dinner! 

It's beginning to look

...a lot like the best holiday* ever!

*I say this about every holiday, I realize.

 Love this pic of these boys with Santa. GG & Brandon took them to see Santa at the Town Hall one day when I was at work. Oh, and GG bought them those adorable matching shirts! (She also feels every holiday is the best, I think)

Your vote: prom pose, giant Anderson or chokehold?

Almost Christmas time around here means birthday celebrations of some of out favorite people. Poor Bop broke 3 ribs the week of his birthday so he didn't really get to live it up, but we did get him a coconut pie and I made dinner at the Publix deli area with the Rotisserie chickens. 

How many Santa visits can we possibly cram into one season? So far, the answer is 3. This was a visit to Santa at the YMCA breakfast with Noni on her birthday. We don't have a pic of her with her cake because we were face timing Nicole during the singing. I seriously love FaceTime. And Noni.

Anderson & I decided to decorate this tree next to our house as a new tradition. Why on earth I thought it would be a good idea to add anything to my decorating plate is beyond me, but it was pretty fun, even if it looks a little rough.

It looks sort of pitiful when you see it next to the rest of the trees, but it was pretty tall for us. I actually had to get the ladder out to put the decorations on it. Which, really means nothing because I am pretty short.

Anderson made this card for Bop when he broke his ribs. He really can be sweet when he is not terrorizing people. 

The Noni.

Christmas brunch at the Brimer's!! This has been a tradition since the boys were born and it really is so much fun. Look at these 2...just destined to be BFF.

And these two, of course, already are BFF! Brunch was so yummy because Clare & Andy made so much delicious food and Publix made some great fruit in a bowl, which was my contribution. Brandon asked, "We are bringing fruit?" And I explained that it was important to play to our strengths, so Clare cooked and I brought pre-packaged food.

He is the best.

At some point, their biological mother is going to return to get them, I think.

**People are obsessed with his hair. The fuzziness is really out of control.

So....Anderson is not impressed at all with our Elf. He notices it as I remember at the last minute every morning to move it around the house. To be honest, this whole disinterest in the elf is totally ok with me because one less thing to have to keep up with is perfectly ok in my world.

On this day, I saw some idea to act like it snowed by throwing a bag of cotton balls around a room. Keep in mind that this was literally the one day I tried to do something other than move it from one counter to another. Please look at Anderson's expression. It is almost annoyance. I said, Maybe the elf brought snow from the North Pole?"He responded, "Maybe Chloe ate something and got sick?

The whole experience was really an epic failure.

But, a few days later I totally redeemed myself by starting a massive cotton ball fight when he least expected it. Bam. Redemption.

Christmas train building at Lowe's! I just am in love with both of those little elves.

Late night visit to Kroger in his jammies for last minute cookie making stuff. (And, groceries for the week)

Max really is so good with our tree. Apparently he keeps trying to eat Noni's, but he is not that interested in ours, which is nice. He is more interested in looking adorable and like a grown up.

Max-7 months!

Big Stuff. 

 Someone is crawling everywhere. EVERYWHERE. I actually love it.

 Those chubby legs might be the most delicious things ever.

First time on the slide!! Thanks for the pic, Aunt Clare!

My life is now complete due to these 2 perfect boys and the fact that we can streamline bath time. Plus, I think Max's life is also complete based on the joy on his face. 

"This one" really is perfect. For example, I don't remember a time EVER when Anderson fell asleep in his stroller. Ever. Max is not consistent about sleeping in th stroller, but totally stepped it up this one time and I am IN LOVE.

And....I love Target. Look at these awesome new carts!  (And, we love Uncle Zack.)

Anderson has been obsessed with these random gardening gloves. He wears them all of the time. We accidentally left them in our car when we sold it and thank goodness some of our good friends (the Futchers!) ended up buying it so they could return them to us.

It just does not get better than a baby in a bucket.

How great is this outfit!!! Thank you, GG!

7 month update:

-This boy is perfect. 

-He eats like a champ-loves the blended baby foods, random pieces of whatever we are eating (tiny, tiny because he will choke on a cheerio) and the Gerber cheetos (they have some kind of pseudo healthy name, but they really are like baby cheetos). He still does not totally love a bottle from me, but we have made massive progress. 

-Spits up every single thing I just mentioned. All day. Every day. 

-He does this hilarious crawl that is sort of like a belly flop, followed by a few swimming strokes and then a few normal crawl moves. He is trying so hard to pull up on everything and gets really frustrated when he cannot do it. 

-He loves cords of all kinds and will beeline to them in every room. 

-He spends a lot of time with the grandmas, so maybe Noni should be writing this post....

-He loves, loves, loves Anderson, his jumperoo, bathtime, flopping everywhere when I try to change his diaper, his monkey lovey (truman), snuggling, laughing, Brandon, Gabbi and laughing at his reflection in the mirror. 

-He takes pretty good naps during the days, but does not sleep through the night yet. CIO worked at bedtime, but has just failed us miserably in the middle of the night. I used to think that it would just work and I had to be persistent, but 2 months later, I realize that every kid is different and I don't need to assume anything. Ever. We made him cry in the middle of the night for awhile and it never got decreased and then we found out he had 2 ear infections (mom fail) so we treated them and tried again and it never worked. And. then we found out he still had 2 ear infections, so we treated him again and tried again and it still didn't work. And, then we found out he still has 2 ear infections, so we gave him his 4th antibiotic, made an appointment with a specialist and decided that it is not worth making him scream, so he gets middle of the night snuggles until I know he does not have 2 ear infections. Literally, the child has had had 2 ear infections for over 2 months of the 7 months he has been alive. It is not ok. Well, it is ok because he is perfect and surely I am going to get a consecutive 6 hours of sleep one day. Surely. Please, for the love of God, surely. 

-I really, really love him and plan on kissing that sweet face every day for the rest of my life. Seriously, he is going to hate me when he is a teenager because I am going to hold true to this promise. 

Thanksgiving and the weekend

We had such a wonderful Thanksgiving filled with lots of food, family, football playing and just festivities, in general. And, because I am lazy & trying to get this post finished, these pictures are all over the place with regards to chronology, so just hang with me.

Lots of football. Always. And, this is probably what I was most thankful for since Anderson was literally in heaven.

Super high quality picture. How awesome are the giant forms of Kyler and Brandon? I LOVE that my family was willing to drive here...again, so we could be together. I just cannot believe how grown up my nephews are, though :(

GG will spoil these boys rotten with adorable clothes. And, Max will give you this face every time the flash goes off in a picture. Speaking of GG, she spent Thanksgiving morning in the ER with an ear infection, but still managed to pull off a perfect meal! Super thankful for her!

Not Thanksgiving...out of order, but we did a family trip to the mall to make Reese a Build a Bear for Christmas and it was just a really fun time.

I mean, of course it was fun. Look at this guy!

Snow on Thanksgiving! I really have never dreamt of a White Thanksgiving, but it was pretty fun.

I had this great idea to make the turkey cookies with the candy corn as the feathers and, well, it didn't turn out as planned. (This should not surprise anyone.) Well, I think it turned out as Anderson planned because his cookie creations were pretty epic. I can't help but think of Elf when I look at this because of the inclusion of all of the food groups...candy, candy corn, icing, cookies, sprinkes, etc.

So many adorable Thanksgiving outfits.

We really love that GG keeps everyone in themed clothing for the holidays. How great is this shirt?

Max with Uncle Andrew! Such a good pic, I think. I made a an Aunt collage pic with all 4 aunts & Max and cannot, for the life of me, figure out what I did with it. It might make an appearance in a later blog post.

Again, with the football and other people raising my kid.

One theme of the week was the pediatrician's office. Max has apparently had an ear infection for about 6 weeks, which means he still has not been able to get his 6 month shots. And, because the first 2 rounds of antibiotics did not work, he had to get 3 shots in a row of an antibiotic. Hence, the 3 visits to the doctor office in a span of 4 days. Poor little guy was/is such a trooper and we are hoping that he is finally clear now.

We went on a visit to Bristol & did a festive activity of tube sliding on this frozen hill. It really was such a fun idea & we in true hoarding form are already planning to make this a yearly tradition.

They really are hilarious. SO thankful for cousins.

These 2, also. I bought these outfits on clearance last year assuming that Reese would need a 12 month and Max would need a 9 months and I never would have guessed that I should have switched the 2 sizes!

Our Elf (Engineer) made an appearance with new jammies for everyone. 

Again with the out of order thing...After the tube slide, we went on a 4 hour adventure of driving through a light show. The kids fell asleep while we were waiting and missed the show and we learned to never go on the weekend of Thanksgiving in the future.  The only positive of being stuck in a light show for that long was to experience the joy that was watching Nicole relish in the Auburn victory. It really was all that got us through the experience.

SO thankful for such a wonderful week and all of the people in it!

 These are not from Thanksgiving, but I just got them from Amanda. How perfect are these cousins? And, how are my nephews so old? When did they become adults?  I love them.

They even posed with pajamas for us because they are wonderful.

Check out Nicole's post with the most adorable pictures ever.