Partying in Bristol & Birmingham

We went to Bristol to celebrate Reese (3) and Levi (1) and Max was thrilled. 

He actually was so happy that he had to be equally as angry while waiting for them to arrive. Max is not one to hide his emotions in any setting. He likes to keep it real, just in general. 

See?? His happiest of places is with his Reese. 

These 2 are just the best together.

I looked up once and saw this and was reminded, yet again, why Anderson cried when we had to leave. 

I cannot explain how cute this child is in real life. Words do not do her justice. 

Nicole is SO amazing at all things that require detail and planning and creativity. How cute are these Backpack goodie bags?? And, there were personalized water bottles in each one, which both of my kids love immensely. 

The birthday girl, herself. 

The birthday boy, himself. 

The birthday boy with his Sissa in a foam pit. 

Because this is what a Mom who just planned a party for 2 kids is generally doing during the actual party. 

Levi was pretty pumped he had Noni there to make sure nobody forgot to feed him. 

I look over and...this. Max did it himself. This firefighter stage might be the death of me, but how cute is this??

Anderson showing Reese how it is done.

A few days after our Bristol visit, we got to see our other out of town family in Birmingham. I don't have many pictures because I got a new phone and I didn't save them all apparently, but I did keep this high quality one of me forcing Max to sit in my lap. 

Because of course Uncle Zack is going to swim in the pool with my boys when it is not very warm outside. 

Aunt Manda will make a visit the greatest vacation ever. 

Leap Day & St. Paddy's Day

Because I am a sucker for all things "theme" or "minor holiday" or "let's try to create traditions so my kids don't just remember their mom working all of the time," we really embraced Leap Day. Anderson loves all things Science, so this "holiday" that is tied to Earth and orbiting was fun for him. 

In keeping with the "Leap" part, I ordered them a "Grow A Frog."

 In some kind of modern parenting twist, you can order pets on Amazon. 

There are many reasons I did this:

1. Anderson desperately wants a lizard. I mean DESPERATELY. He has wanted one since he was 4 and I convinced the Petco employee to tell him he had to wait 2 years, hoping he would forget. 

He did not forget. 

I actually looked into a lizard and my problem is that they have to be fed often and cleaned* and otherwise taken care of....and, well, I am just not on board with all of that. 

*They poop EVERY DAY! I mean, what kind of torture would that be for my OCD? 

I am hoping the frog eases his reptile mind for a bit. An amphibian has to be the next best thing, right?

2. Perhaps you remember how much fun we had with Tadpoles living on our counter last year? Anderson definitely does, so I thought this might be a fun project as well. 

3. I really wanted to celebrate Leap Year and couldn't think of anything else fun, so I fell back on the frog thing. 

4. I could order it on Amazon and it came in a baggie in the mail! I mean, what is not to love??

They were SO excited about all of it and I realized how different their ages are when, at the same time, Anderson was documenting the stages in the little book while Max was trying to stick a plastic knife in the container to stab the tadpole. 

Also, Max named him "Max the Tadpole." So, there is that. 

We also did a "Leap Day Time Capsule" and I cannot wait to see how much their answers change in 4 years. And, yes-Max is hilarious. 

Also, because these boys love them some green & I am usually off work on St. Patrick's Day, we always live up the green day. 

Lucky Charms, green food coloring and some green supplies (bought last year on clearance) make it a pretty easy time.

Green jello for dessert!

Also, I am aware of how many different pairs of pajamas that Max owns and I am not apologizing. 

Details.

I have learned that life really is in the details

I get so caught up in the home details-the good, the bad, the crazy, the sippy cups, the snacks, the birthday party gifts, one Eggo waffle and two boys, the forgotten basketball at practice, the text being sent on time, the clean shirt in the drawer, the milk not being sour, the name in the coat left on the playground, the back up dog food, enough toilet paper, trying to find an envelope, the location of the monkey and the lone Nike sock in the drawer. 

I get so caught up in the work details-the deadline, the plan, the duty, the meeting, the form, the documentation, the kid behind the missing credit, the parent phone call, the parent in the office, the meeting that started 10 minutes ago, the late night, the missing parent, the upset teacher, the disappointed kid, the constant task of trying to get caught up. 

But, every now and then, I am stopped by these details and I have tried to stop and recognize them when they are really special and unique and when they are the details that I want to focus on and remember and not lose with the checked off grocery list.

One day, out of the blue, Max AGREED to put his firefighter gear on his cubby. No arguing, no crying, no compromising. He put on his tennis shoes like a normal kid. It was easier in a way-it cut a few minutes off of my morning commute, but it also made me realize why I will be just a little nostalgic for this stage. 

To be fair, having to constantly keep up with the gear and attempting to keep it free from ecoli without completely ruining the velcro from too much washing, is a little annoying after almost 5 months, but Fire Chief Max literally wins at life and the fact that he genuinely believes he is a firefighter is what makes it so, so cute. 

 

We have grandparents close by and this might be my favorite detail of all. 

Poor GG got roped into eating dinner with these 2 grumpy boys one night. We sure love how close by she is to us!

Speaking of-I was walking through Kroger and there was my Dad! I mean, what. It is so awesome to have my parents live near me and something I never, ever take for granted. 

Selfie on the frozen food aisle!

Anderson fiercely annoys Max to no end, but he loves him just as intensely. He was so excited to get home and give Max the treat he picked out for him in the treasure box at school-a Paw Patrol pencil. 

Max puts up with a lot, but he is so lucky to have such a great big brother. 

I am frequently dropping things off at my Mom's house and just leaving the execution of the plan up to her. For example, here are a bunch of snacks for Anderson's kindergarten class. 

Please arrange your entire week to take these to him-thanks. 

HUGE detail-help from the village. 

GG's monkey, as Max lovingly/demandingly calls his lovey is ALWAYS a detail. Really, he is a family member more than a detail because life cannot function without him. But, seeing the creepy monkey face peering over Max's shoulder makes me happy because that little monkey blanket thing makes Max feel loved and safe when I am not around and that is a win for me. 

My bookshelf at work-so much of my life on these shelves-props & books from when I was teaching, Graduation mugs and random goodies from my days at Powell and pics and crafts from Anderson. Details of who I am-work and home all crammed together. 

A visit to Ijams over Spring Break and I feel like this picture really captured my boy. Dirt, a frog in a random cup (that I may have pulled out of the trash) and just happiness. 

One of the greatest details of my life is that my therapy lies in organizing and sorting and planning and placing. And, the switch in seasons always results in the sorting of the clothes....it is truly one of my happy places. 

A detail that proves Max stopped by for a bit. 

 Our visit to Dr. Cogen last week had so many details: the familiarity of the McDonald's stop on the way, the feels in the waiting room....nerves, the hoping, the anxiety, the patience, the lack of patience, the waiting. 

My chubby Worms just hanging out on a car ride is definitely one of the details that I am grateful for in my life. We have been together for 13 years and she drives me crazy, but fills my heart like only a first born can. 

Anderson: CBFO Basketball

Despite the fact that he is really a football player, Anderson humored us by playing another sport and he had a pretty fun season of basketball. 

One of the reasons that he loved it was his friend, Noah, was on his team!

*So...as it turns out, I am already a pretty intense parent. To be clear, I am not yelling at the ref or other parents or anything crazy, but the games are stressful. Anderson gives so much to each game-he literally plays with all that he has and I can't help but recognize that and get caught up in it. It is hard to be your kid's #1 fan and stay calm.  I am ok with this, actually. I have never been calm, quiet or reserved at anything I have ever done, so why I expected that I would parent that way is beyond me. But, I am still a little surprised at how quickly I have been sucked in to the intensity. Sigh. It is going to be a long 12 years. 

I got very, very few pictures during the season because basketball is a fast moving sport and it is hard to get actual pictures. 

This is me bragging on my kid for a minute-he was a rock star this season, not only scoring the majority of points most games, but he really developed his skills and worked with his team. To be fair, the fact that he can dribble with both hands is totally credited to Brandon who knows how/why to teach him these things. 

Also, Max still requires lots of entertaining on the sidelines, but luckily this bathroom area was right next to the court, so I did not miss too much. 

In keeping with the basketball theme, Brandon took Anderson to a UT basketball game and they had such an awesome time. 

I love that one of our boys is old enough to do stuff like this with his dad. Also, pretty grateful for Brandon being awesome and knowing how to do dad things. 

It was freezing, but they made a stop by the torch bearer! This will be used in the future when we have his graduation party and send him off to continue his quest to be a #VFL.

Anderson's intensity in all things (i.e.: raising him requires a special level of energy) translates into the fact that he is pretty dominant at sports in this age group. Again, this intensity level carries over into all facets of our life, so it is not just a sports' thing. 

He made the All Star team! It was the first year for his age group to qualify and, even though his team did not win the county wide tournament, we were so proud of his hustle, focus and effort which allowed him to make the team.

We celebrated the End of the Season with a visit to Chickfila where the goodie bags had slim jims in them-total win!

February: cousins, more snow , some other things

We got to spend quite a bit of time with our favorite Pieces of the Pie and Max was IN HEAVEN! She did not miss a beat at our house and demanded her "Spidaman" suit (Optimus Prime) so she could beat up the football guy with the boys.

These 2 are seriously so awesome together. They actually love each other in a way that allows sitting closely, playing, talking at normal levels and not bruising each other. All of these are very different relationship traits than their older siblings' relationship. 

Brandon was determined to get Baby Levi to walk to him. Soon we won't have any babies left in the family, which is crazy!

On our snow days, the freezing weather will never keep us inside, so we went off on an exploration. This is 9000% Anderson's happy place and, despite the fact that I was freezing, I was very grateful to be off of work.

There was not enough snow to do much, but we took advantage of every flake that we could find. 

And, all of the mud, of course. 

Without snow to play in, cold weather is just....cold. This is not really any fun for small people who just want to be outside all day long. Max was SO angry that his sand was frozen. He was especially angry because he even made the sacrifice to wear the big coat for the sand that betrayed him. Wearing actual clothing/warm coats is the highest level of sacrifice that Max can make, so his anger was exceptionally high. 

One of the snow days resulted in Anderson's 2nd sleepover! 

(Of course, his first one was over 4 years ago when Jack spent the weekend with us.)

Chloe was super excited because there was an entire extra person to drop random food on the ground for her.   

I never ever sit down. 

I just don't. I eat standing up, I walk around while I brush my teeth, I am constantly walking around just putting things away, taking care of stuff, etc. This is a blessing (where is my crown for being the QUEEN OF MULTI TASKING?) and a curse (sometimes my family members just want me to sit with them.) 

On one snow day, I sat down and watched a good 5 minutes of Paw Patrol with Max and I am not going to lie-I was OWNING parenting at that moment. Max was so happy that I was snuggling with him and I was so proud of myself for accomplishing something while sitting (making Max happy, creating a bonding moment, taking a pic for documentation) that I made it the entire 5 minutes. 

You might remember that the last time I sat down (last Easter-almost a year ago)  Max ended up having to get stitches. This time, all ended well. 

Also, the snow days made me realize something about myself and my dislike of cooking. It not that I hate cooking...I hate cooking at 6:30pm when everyone is starving (they eat lunch at 10:30) and I am simultaneously trying to bring everything in from the house, prepare everything for the evening, unload the dishwasher, talk to my children, etc. On the snow days, I got to cook at 5:30 or so and it was truly a game changer. It was nice because it made me realize that it is not my fault! If I could only have more snow days or get some kind of part job or not allow my kids to participate in activities, they could have better meals! This is what I tell myself anyway!

Max has become obsessed with hide & seek and his favorite thing to do is climb into stuff (followed closely by onto) like the dryer. I let him, send Anderson in and then document the whole thing. 

Because she is Noni, Mom made Max his own Fireman book and he LOVES it. 

Because he is only the greatest person ever, Brandon received a huge, very important award given to him in D.C.! I was so jealous of his visit, but also so proud of all of his hard work!

One of my favorite pics ever of Max-he is so proud of having stolen Anderson's rec specs and I just love his smug expression. 

When I sneak in and catch them reading, it reminds me that we are doing something right in this parenting world. 

One of our weekends in Feb was spent helping GG move and I managed at get exactly one picture to document the occasion-Aunt LoLo entertaining the boys. 

He has now been sporting the fire gear for 4 solid months-every day.

 Public is still as madly in love with him everywhere we go.