Thankful 2014

I am thankful for conditioner, dropbox, the idea of lighthouses and socks that don't cut off my ankle circulation. For the efficiency of the little packs of laundry detergent. I am thankful for the variety of cereal and ice cream and music because it reminds me that the world needs so many kinds of people. For GoGurt, "Free after Rebate", car chargers and the TimeHop App. For the faithfulness, trustworthiness and unconditional everything that is my parents. For nieces and nephews, aunt and uncles and cousins. I am thankful for opportunity and luck and hard work and persistence and support and the ability to survive on very little sleep: all of which has brought me to where I am in my life. For my blog books, people who know what to do with a whisk, Netflix, clearance sales following holidays, Max's blond hair and the longevity of my dogs. I am thankful for the mail distribution system that we have in America-we have a lot of trust in people, just leaving our mail hanging out in mailboxes, yet, it somehow works.  For those moments when my students restore my faith in humanity. I am thankful that I have 4 different calendars (phone, wall, nightstand and work desk), each of which holds a special place in my heart and, each of which, I use every single day. I am thankful for a husband who knows my love language is words of affirmation. For recipe texts from my sisters, No Shave November, how Max says "Tur-tle" and that my children are the age where pushing the elevator button is thrilling. For intensity, in general. I am thankful for advanced medicine, stem cell transplants, fighting spirits and selfless souls.  For the awesome trend that is leggings, big shirts and boots because the comfort of basically wearing pajamas might be the greatest invention ever. I am thankful for the times that a 2 seater cart is in the Target parking lot, so I don't have to even carry the boys in to get one. For scented dryer sheets, ocean waves, pedicures  and cheeseburgers. For the defining characteristics of my childhood-playing outside, family, activities and spaghetti.  I am thankful for self confidence. For the times when Max wakes up at 3am and I know I have 2 more hours to sleep once he falls asleep again. For people who are genuine. For the unique feeling I get when I say, I have a twin sister; it's almost like a little thrill just remembering how very lucky I am to be able to say those words.  I am thankful for the fact that cursive is almost completely dead, birthday party invitations, hard boiled eggs and for the times when the sun is so perfectly positioned as to make the day bright but not require me to find my sunglasses. For Anderson's curiosity. For Inservice days, the person who first dreamt of the idea of a zoo, middle names with meaning and the green chairs in my kitchen.

But, mostly, I am thankful for this:

in a room filled with "I am thankful for Dollywood/my toys/ naps/cake/etc", 

my first born chose my second born.

Max:18 months

As time goes, Max is 18 months old. 

As preciousness, well, he is at least 100 years. Probably a little more. 

He has brought me so much happiness and I just stare at his little face all of the time because he is so stinking cute. My heart was definitely completed with this one. 

I love this pic from Noni. I also love that he gets to be loved on by Noni & Bop and, now that I think about it, maybe they should be telling you about him since they know him pretty well.

His stats. His head. Love him.

This kid loves to do everything that everyone else does, which means he hates anything that makes him the baby. I love when I catch glimpses of him doing things like "working" at Anderson's desk. He loves to color/attack paper with pens and really loves painting, which is fun but super messy. 

Also, I hope I took those scissors away from him after I took this picture. 

He also loves, loves, loves to read. His favorites are anything with trucks/construction and animals. He knows every animal (and it's sound) and hearing him say Turtle is the cutest thing in the world. I think it is a given then he also knows every construction vehicle and it's sound, too. 

He will pick up a book and then just scoot backwards until he finds a lap. It is adorable. 

I think he is a really good talker (I don't really remember Anderson at 18 months), but he basically tries to repeat everything and always tells me if it is cold (or freezing cold!) or hot outside, what he wants (shoes! MILK!! PANCAKES!!! EAR O (cheerios)!! OUT!! UPSTAIRS!! DIGGER!! MACHINES (as in the "Mighty" kind)!!) and he is so cute when he says "PEEZ!" and tries to the the sign for it frantically. His school teaches a few signs of sign language and he has apparently picked up this one. 

He was not pleased at his 18 month check up and kept yelling, "Ma ma BYE BYE PEEZ!!!" He does a few sentences like that, with his first one ever being, "Watch Machines Peez!" (Anderson's was "Watch tractors me, " so at least we are teaching the second one a few manners. 

The 3 things that he wants more than anything else are:

MAMA!!!!!

and

MONKEY!!!

and 

MIXER!!!!

This boy loves his Mama. And, he really, really loves his monkey.

Just a  boy in the dirt with his mixer. 

This mixer has consumed our life in the past few weeks. If anyone sees another one at Target, please let me know. We really need a back up and they never have them in stock. 

Like all perfect boys, he is into everything related to transportation, wheels, dirt and overall messiness. He loves his little shirts with vehicles on them, so it is a good thing that Anderson went through the same phases and we have a nice pile to hand down to Max. 

Clare took this at the Soccer Party and Max's face is pretty hilarious. He does NOT want to share his digger video. 

That highchair in the background might as well stay back there because Ferg is not going to use it. 

He is SUCH a better eater than Anderson ever was and it is so wonderful. He doesn't eat things like macaroni & cheese, lunchmeat, eggs or any other basic kid food, but he does eat oatmeal (WHAT? vacation child!), all fruits, cereal, little pancakes, beans,corn, spaghetti, yogurt and milk. He drinks milk. MILK. He drinks it. As in PLAIN MILK! I had no idea this existed. I love him. 

He is actually pretty picky when it comes to eating, but the above list is way more than Anderson ever ate, so I feel pretty lucky. 

He loves his sisters and they tolerate him. 

This morning he was freaking out in his car seat saying, 'Bye Bye Girz!!" and I realized I didn't let him tell them bye. So, we got out and went back in to love on them. Gotta take care of the sisters. 

He would do this all day long. 

He will actually sometimes get frustrated because he wants to pick the pictures up off the page. 

Bless it. 

Anderson is the greatest big brother. He really is so patient and loving most of the time. When I was pregnant with Max, I thought Max would be obsessed with Anderson, but I think the opposite is actually true. Max always wants to find Anderson and loves playing with him, but at this point, Anderson is definitely more enamored with his Ferg. 

Anderson really is helping me raise him. For example, at church the other day the topic was "Talents" and Anderson said one of his talents is "Helping my brother." True. To be fair, Anderson annoys Max to death and Max generally just screams in response. But, for the most part, they are pretty good together. 

They really do not look alike at all. There are moments where Max will make an expression that looks a lot like Anderson (Brandon) and it is sort of shocking. They DO have very similar personalities. 

Just like Anderson: Max is super intense (i.e.: he will not sit for long, he is physically crazy), he loves all things construction and prefers the real looking toys over the fake toy ones; Max will stare at the wheels on various surfaces, mesmerized by how they work, just like A did; he talks A LOT, too; he loves his mama/Bobble; he is not laid back at all. 

Unlike Anderson: Max has not climbed out of his crib yet!!!!!!! Hallelujah. I don't even know where to start with that one. He is a pretty good climber as I have no qualms about him rocking the fast food playground and regular playgrounds, but I think his giant head keeps him stationary in his crib. 

 Max drinks milk and eats more quantities of food, which just makes him easier. 

Max sleeps from 8pm-6am and only wakes up once (or never!) to get covered back up. He does not really nap at all but HE SLEEPS 10 hours at night! WHO NEEDS A NAP WITH A 10 HOUR SLEEPER?? (I would still love a nap, but I will take 10 hours) I think Max would actually nap for me if we were home more because he does nap for mom/daycare pretty well. But, the 48 hours we have on the weekends are sort of full with activities and errands and a nap does not always play into that time. 

Basically, Max seems so easy because of these 2 things:

He does not wear a patch. 

He is still in his crib at 18 months. 

To me, any kid who fits those criteria is a vacation and I am so grateful for the perspective to recognize that. 

He hates sitting in carts, but I have discovered that the Target cart is more effective than Kroger because he can't get out of the straps. This does not prevent him from screaming hysterically in an effort to escape, but I feel that anyone at Target is probably a mom anyway, so they are used to high volume hysterics. 

One of his favorite things to do is watch "DIGGER!" on the iPad or our phones.

I love how he gets cozy and kicks his little legs. Y'all, he is just so cute. 

A video of Max playing soccer

Max being cute

Max playing with his digger

Fall Sports.

Anderson has been playing soccer and baseball during the fall. Well, actually, he has been playing football all day, every day, but he has been on soccer and baseball teams. 

Literally, all he wants to do is play football, but that is a story for another day.

Adorable soccer team! Check out precious little Sunny. I overheard him telling someone, "She is my REAL friend; she has even been to my house." I love it!

You might remember my version of the soccer picture package. 

Anderson really loves playing soccer. His intense personality makes him aggressive and fast at soccer. As Nicole said about Lily, the things that make him difficult to raise make him semi-successful at fast paced sports. He was actually really fun to watch because he was very intense and scored at least one goal each game. Random parents would ask, "Is he your son? We enjoyed watching him, " and, "When we were losing at the beginning, we wanted to yell, 'Put Anderson in!"

I am not bragging on my kid, just speaking the truth. This is definitely the "good" side of the coin called, "Raising a super intense kid who never sleeps and is always physical." Come by my house at any moment and he is literally jumping off the walls, off the bed, on us, etc. So, the intensity is everywhere, not just at sports.

For example-during an intense soccer game (not in public, thank goodness), Anderson yelled, "I am going to break everything, including your heart!" 

I was already taking a pic, not anticipating that I was going to catch this view.

I also love soccer because I love watching Brandon coach him, that we got to play Jack's team twice and that Child Care at the Y is available for some of the games. When it is not, we bring Noni to tame the beast because I would like to actually watch Anderson play a bit and Max is NOT going to let that happen. I do not make children who are easily entertained/stationary/brown eyed.

I tried to get some footage of him playing soccer, but you never really know when they are going to kick the ball or do something exciting and I just do not have the attention span or phone battery to keep recording the entire time, so here are a few attempts:

A terrible quality video of Anderson scoring a goal

And, another one...

In a fun twist, Brandon and I both coached together during a make up game when the coach couldn't make it. I really enjoy being on the field with Anderson because it is fun, I love soccer, I like that the girl players see that a girl can be coach, too and this is really my only chance to be on the field during my kids' athletic endeavors.

I will coach soccer, volunteer in their rooms at church, sign up to bring everything for their school parties, donate the books the teachers request at the book fair, sign Brandon up to speak at preschool and basically worm my way into their lives in every way possible.

 I feel the tiniest bit sorry for my future daughters in law. 

 We celebrated the end of the season with a pool party at the Y. I was very excited to see that he remembered how to swim because it has been a few months since he used those skills. That blur jumping in is Anderson.

 He was very proud of his trophy, especially since Coach Daddy/Brandon gave it to him!

Incredibly grateful for another wonderful soccer season.

Baseball. Well, that was another story. He played one season of t-ball and liked it because everyone ran after the ball every hit, so there was a lot of movement. Then, we started Coach Pitch and he had a small obstacle called "a cast on his dominant arm" and another obstacle called "baseball is a lot of standing and basically zero intensity." The first few games he did not like it at all and kept reminding us that he was really a football player. He struck out and was totally bored with all of it. Then, about half way through the season, he figured out how to hit the ball and he decided he actually does like it.

I was very grateful that games only last an hour because Max is exhausting to chase. Precious, but crazy.    

A game before the cast came off. 

One game, after he figured out how to hit, he got 3 hits and was given the game ball! He was pumped about it, but quick to remind us that he is really a football player. 

Thankful to Aunt Manda for the pic! 

A video from baseball 

The Baseball Party was at Chuck E Cheese and I hesitated on going because I sort of hate Chuck E Cheese, but I found a bunch of coupons where we were able to get a million tokens. It ended up being SO much fun! Max was obsessed with this digger and was very easily entertained hanging out in/running all over the place including behind the food counter. 

Anderson is always on the lookout for a competition.

 I missed the entire trophy presentation because a certain tiny, crazy person that we brought with us refused to sit, but Brandon got some good pics. The coach was so awesome and had trophies, certificates and even goody bags with Avengers stuff! (not that my kid was remotely interested in any of it-how do I have the only 4 year old boy in the world with zero interest in super heroes?)

I was determined to make good use of at least one token. Max was determined to not sit still, even for the 3 seconds that it took to take a pic. He won. 

He loved his trophy, but I do find it fitting that he took the pic wearing his UT pajama pants and UT football jersey. It is clear where his heart lies.

The baby NEPHEW!!!!!

My sister is having a boy. 

I cannot wait!! Look at him! Perfect. A boy. 

There are so many thoughts/emotions/frantic list making of things I need to get her. 

I am not super helpful with the "boy advice" because I basically only know the following things:

-Boys need overnight diapers from about day 2

-There is ZERO pressure to dress boys. It is awesome. Nobody cares what they wear. 

-Boys are so much easier to entertain because there are always cars/trucks/construction/dirt/bugs wherever you are. 

-So. much .physical.energy. I told Nicole that I definitely can tell a difference immediately when I pick Anderson up from school on the days they didn't get to go outside. He is like a terrorist different kid.

-Boys really do love their mamas. I know girls do, too, but there is something about a boy and his mama/Bobble.

I was literally freaking out for about a week. I told everyone who was remotely within earshot about the big day. I had so many coworkers come to me and say, "Well?" and it was so exciting to say, 'A BOY!' Then they would comment about my nieces and my Alabama nephews and I realized that I might talk about my family a teeny bit much. 

Nicole truly has the best set up. SISTERS and  a BOY! It is too perfect. 

I got my hair cut last week and I was telling everyone around me about my newest nephew who is on the way and my hairstylist said she has an older sister and a younger brother. I asked her what she and her sister thought of having a younger brother and this was her response:

"Well, he, I mean....he is our everything." 

Right there. If that does not sum up this perfect situation, I just don't know what does. These 2 girls are going to LOVE.ON.HIM. I mean, he is truly not going to know what hit him when he is born, but I have a feeling that he is going to be raised by Lily. Also, Anderson has volunteered to help when it is time to learn stuff, like "how to catch a bee and who Peyton Manning is. Oh, and how to jump off stuff."

I sent Nicole this pic within 5 minutes of finding out about him. I totally knew all along, but didn't really want to say anything because I wanted everyone to be surprised.

Here is a link to Nicole's Blog with even more pics.

I cannot wait until March!!!

Anderson's Drawings

Recently, Anderson has developed a tiny interest in drawing. This is hugely surprising because his other interests are tackling people, attacking/destroying things and complaining about eating. 

But, his artwork is really pretty cute. 

A drawing of the Fall Festival that we went to a few weeks ago. Brandon wrote the descriptions after he drew it. My favorite part is definitely the skiing squirrel, but the fact that he has this memory at all is just as wonderful. 

He drew this one night when he came to a football game with me. A downside of my job is that I can't just leave after the game, so while I was finishing my tasks, he sat in my office and did this. Bop was there and helped him with the words. 

Gibbs Won. Powell Lost. And, he put the score. I just thought it was cute and incredibly accurate. 

This is not really artwork, but he brings one of these home each week and it is cute to see his little squares and writing.

I am a terrible mom because I can't completely remember what this is, but I know it was something specific or I would not have taken the picture. Use your imagination, I guess. 

My favorite of all. 

"I made that house for Max to hang in his room." 

He thinks about his bother when he is at school. My heart is happy. 

Sort of a phone dump.

Just a few glimpses of the past few weeks:

These 3.

Also, these 3. My puppies DRIVE.ME.CRAZY. with their shedding, constant standing where I am despite the fact that one of them is really, really big and has sharp toenails, diabetic thirst need for water all day long and SHEDDING, but they are my children and, therefore, get to sleep in the bed.

Also, Anderson gets to fall asleep in my bed sometimes when Brandon has to work late. He loves it and is already a terrible sleeper, so whatever. I don't even care about the sleep battle anymore. I did everything right with Anderson-crying it out, reversing the lock on his door, etc. and it didn't matter; the kid does not need sleep. Max? No crying it out and he is still NOT even trying to climb out of his crib and he is already 17 months old AND he sleeps from 8-6am. He is an awesome sleeper and I did everything "wrong,"so I have zero faith in anything logical.  So I let my 4 year old snuggle and could care less. One day he will stop but, until then, whatever.

Brandon donated blood after mass one day & Anderson got to watch. Brandon has veins that would make Dracula faint from excitement; they are huge. Meanwhile, I am still traumatized by the one time I gave blood about 7 years ago. 

The dogs are always putting on a show (ie: barking and having a wrestling match.) Gabbi usually lets Chloe win these battles, but at this moment is apparently throwing it down herself.

I cannot get over Max in his little jeans.

Did you know that pumpkins float???

A quick visit from the Memphis cousins happened in October!

A LOT of this around the house-conspiring together to break more bones have fun together. 

Watching the Vols. I love genetics. 

Precious little pic of this boy from school. 

Pic from Noni-he looks like Brandon here, for sure. 

Max LOVES riding in Anderson's jeep, but Anderson doesn't really care for it too much, so I end up riding him around in it. I am sure that the neighbors are noticing since half of my body is propped up on the roof, but Max loves it, so we keep at it. 

 We ran into Lucy Goose at a soccer game! These 2 will really ham it up.

"Take a picture of me with all of this tea behind me!" 

Just a bit of the stuff that was in my purse when I cleaned it out. It is safe to say that I like to be prepared for an impromptu need to entertain my kids. 

This is such a glimpse of my future, I just know. Everyone in my house glued to football. 

And, Chloe on the bed-that is the past, present and future. 

These boys and their Bop. 

As always, super grateful to parents who have fun parties and let the baby brother crash!