A California surprise

This is how a mother might look when she arrives at a restaurant to join her children (who live locally) and grandchildren for a celebratory dinner:

And this is how that mother looks when she realizes that her oldest son has traveled cross-country for the occasion!
You'd think I had a picture next of my mother and this traveling son, but I don't. :)

My mom retires tomorrow after more than 22 1/2 years with her company. She has worked very hard and we hope that she will thorougly enjoy the happiness she has earned in retirement. I know I'm definitely (selfishly) looking forward to the increased availability for babysitting!

Pete, my oldest brother (who lives in sunny California), decided to come for the occasion (her work is throwing her a party tomorrow), but we all agreed it should be a surprise. It has been a hard surprise to keep and I was so afraid I would let it slip! But luckily, the cat stayed in the bag and she was completely (and quite happily) surprised. Unfortunately Trey couldn't be there tonight (nor Pete's wife and daughter), but it was great to have an almost-full family dinner tonight! We look forward to celebrating the retirement more tomorrow!

35 months old!

35 months! Last week Thomas turned 35 months. It's hard to believe that in three weeks our little boy will be three! I'm not sure where the time goes. It's scary to see how quickly it passes. I feel like if I blink he will be graduating from college. But for now, he's still our little guy.



At 35 months, Thomas is such a little boy. I don't know when toddler-dom ends, but I definitely feel that he is more little boy than toddler these days. He talks up a storm and runs full speed (and talks full speed) most of the day. That boy would be in constant motion sometimes if he was allowed.

I don't know how much he weighs, but when he went for a flu vaccine a few weeks ago, he measured at 38.5 inches tall (in shoes). I've been looking for a picture I took when he was a baby to compare to this one, but haven't located it yet (need to look on our other computer)...but for now I'll post this one alone. It's hard to believe how much he has grown in nearly three years! It seems like just yesterday that he barely came up to this window sill (like Parker does now...his head is just above the sill).


People are always commenting about what a happy boy he is and how well he talks. I suppose they could just be trying to be nice, but I like to think there is some truth to it. :) His teacher tells us he is a very happy boy at school.

One area where he is not progressing is potty training. His teacher always tells me that they ask him if he wants to go (I think most of his friends at school are potty trained or are potty training at this point) and he always says "No, I'll just use my diaper." That's about how it is at home too. I keep hoping that one day a little switch will flip in his head and he'll be more willing to try, but then again, I think it's too much wishful thinking on my part and we're going to have to start pushing the subject a bit more soon. Though I do believe a child has to be ready for it and I just don't think Thomas is there yet. We are close though. I hope! I sure would love to only have one child in diapers!

Just for fun, compare that with Thomas at 11 months (two years ago):

And Thomas at 23 months (one year ago):


He is doing great in his "big boy bed," and we can't wait until we can transition him to his real "BBB" here soon. I know he is going to love it. He stays in his bed pretty well for naps and bedtime, even though he can get out on his own.

The biggest challenge to growing up, as far as we are concerned, has been his growing need for discipline. He certainly knows how to punch our buttons, and he is constantly testing his limits. It's a test of patience, and sometimes tough love, for us, but I don't think it's anything out of the ordinary. It is quite a challenge some days (especially when he is tired or not feeling well). Some days he will not nap, and that's fine because then he goes to bed easily at night. But the downside is that he is a monster by early evening. He is definitely not ready to give up his daily nap (HALLELUJAH!).

Thomas absolutely adores his brother and loves to make him laugh.


For some reason I've thought a lot lately about what a struggle it was just to get Thomas into this world...complicated pregnancy, water breaking at 16 weeks, bedrest for 20 weeks...yada yada yada...and then I cannot imagine had things not turned out the way they did, how my life would be right without him in it. For all of the days he drives me crazy, there are many, many more days where he makes me laugh and smile and feel so thankful to be his Mom. I am so very thankful for the gift we were given in him.

Eliza is one!

Last Saturday, my niece turned ONE! And yes, it has taken me until now to blog about it. :) We were happy to celebrate the happy occasion with Eliza and her family.


Thomas was happy to have a front row seat for cake time...




It didn't take Eliza long to get the hang of digging right in...


And not long after that, her parents decided she had had enough...


Eliza cleaned up quite quickly and happily rested in the arms of her mom...


And Thomas...he was just happy when it was his turn to have cake...


It was a fun party and we were so happy to be able to be there. I cannot believe it has already been a year! Thomas had a ball, and made a new friend, too. These two boys had a ball!

Eliza, we look forward to sharing many, many birthday celebrations with you!

Out for a drive

I've needed to make this post for a few weeks now, but things have just been too hectic. Today though, for the moment the house is quiet and both boys are napping. It is sheer bliss. I'm on the couch, catching up with Tivo and feeling like every minute is giving me the rejuvenation that I need. So I'll take a moment to finally share this post.

Thomas loves driving his Jeep and Parker gets more and more interested in it each time he sees it. Parker loves just t sit in it (strapped in) and just play without it moving. The boys' daddy is far more trusting than I am though and he actually has let Thomas drive Parker around. It actually tuned out just fine.

(I don't know why Thomas has on pajama pants. I guess we didn't change him after his nap. Oops.)

Apparently Parker felt the need to hold on tightly for dear life...


Maybe we should have been a little worried when Thomas decided to copy Parker...while driving. "Look Mom, no hands!" ???

(If that doesn't work (there should be a video above this line), the link is here.)

Parker was a little chatty...


And then they drove off into the sunset...or something like that.


It's so awesome to watch brotherly love grow...


Let's hope they always stay that way. :)

Time to lower the crib

Parker woke up crying from his nap on Friday morning, but he should have been smiling. He has been sporadically sitting up on his own a few times here and there over the past month, but Friday was the first time he sat up in his crib all by himself. This is what greeted me when I walked in to "rescue" him from his tears:


He was a little happier about it when I went in to get him after his afternoon nap (he woke up happy that time):


I'll be lowering the crib tomorrow!

And just for fun, here's a walk down memory lane to the first time Thomas sat up in his crib all by himself...November 27, 2006:


It's so fascinating to me how you can raise two kids seemingly the same, but they develop at a pace that is all their own. Thomas was crawling at seven months, and never did commando or army crawl. Parker has still not mastered the traditional crawl at 10.5 months, and just recently learned how to army crawl (and he gets ALL over now). Thomas could pull himself up to standing at 7.5 months, and yet right now Parker has still only managed to figure out how to pull up to kneeling, not standing. And of course, if you figure by date, Thomas sat up in his crib at 7 months...and Parker is six weeks from being one.

HOWEVER, Parker is way ahead of Thomas verbally and his fine motor skills. Whatever category things like waving and clapping fall into, Parker is way ahead on those things as well.

I think it's good. Parker is still developing well within range (just as Thomas did with his verbal skills...it was just later in the range), but he is staying a baby a bit longer. Since he is likely our last, I'm thankful that he has needed me a bit longer. I try to remind myself all the time to savor all of the baby things. It doesn't last nearly long enough! Before I know it, Parker will be talking back to me. :) Or maybe he won't learn that "skill." One can dream, right?

Learning from grandparents

It must be wonderful to be a grandparent. You hear this all the time, and I'm sure one day I'll learn it for myself. From my eyes, it's great to see my children with their grandparents. The love and adoration from both sides is so heartwarming. They get to play with each other and have all the fun, and at the end of the period of time, the grandparents get to send the kids home. They get to give lollipops and cookies and not discipline and tough love. And that's the way it should be, of course. I'm in no rush to become a grandparent myself, but I can already see how it can be one of the greatest jobs in the world.

This weekend we are spending some time with my parents, and it's fun to see the boys learn new things here. Thomas had a little golf lesson...


And he was so thrilled with himself to see he could hit the ball quite an impressive distance!


Meanwhile, Nannie was teaching Parker how to clap...a golfer's clap, perhaps?


And the most important lesson of the day...how to relax and swing:

Spring is springing

We're spending a few days at my parents' house and it's the perfect place to see spring springing forth! One lesson learned though...bees are hard to photograph!

Springtime in SC wouldn't be right without Carolina Jessamine...


Bees like the crabapple tree, too...


As the dogwood trees start to bloom, you always know Easter must be right around the corner...


And of course, the azaleas...


I love Spring!


And another great part about Spring, it's time to roll your pants up and dip your feet in the water.






And for those who aren't quite ready to dip their toes in the water, just a little time in the grass will do just fine.


Thank God for beautiful Spring days!

From the mouths of babes

This evening while I was making dinner, Thomas was riding around on his little car (powered by his feet) all about the house. He stopped at the refrigerator and was mumbling something. I decided to listen more carefully and thought he was saying something about "a number two combo." I said, "Did you say something about a number two combo?" And he said, "Yes Mommy, I'm going to get a number two combo from 'Chick-a-Lay.'" That's what Thomas calls the place we all call...



Apparently, he has been present for one too many stops at the Chick-Fil-A drive thru with his mom (who always orders at #2). In my defense (and good for him, too!), the #2 is the chargrilled chicken sandwich. :) Hey, what can I say...the cows made me do it...


That little boy (Thomas)...he's 35 months old today and he never stops making me smile.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Thomas doesn't have school this week (spring break) so we were able to go check out the St. Patrick's Day parade downtown this morning. We met up with a few friends there and had a good time. The parade was short and sweet, but filled with all the things little boys enjoy!

After waiting for about 10 minutes, Thomas was happy to see something finally coming into view (and we could definitely hear one of the pipe bands!):


(Parker, as you can see, needed to warm up to the idea of the parade, but once it got going he did cheer up!)



The boys perfected their waves so that parade riders would throw candy and goodies their way...


Thomas thought Charlie the Riverdog was pretty neat:


There were several bagpipe bands and Thomas enjoyed each one (and Parker was mesmerized)...


There were lots of cars in the parade. Thomas got really excited to see the older ones like this one:


And this one...


There were a few traditional parade floats (about which Thomas exclaimed "LOOK AT THAT MOMMY!!!!"):


There was a more modern fire engine at the end of the parade, as usual, but this one was more interesting...


After the parade, we ran an errand downtown and then headed over to our usual Tuesday play/lunch date at Lily & Sarah Ellen's house. The lunch table was pretty crowded today:

(Bailey, Abigail, Thomas, Porter, Margaret Anne and Lily)
That doesn't include the three babies and three moms! It was a fun time, as usual.

And just before it was time to go home for naptime, Taryn stole a little cuddle time with her two girls and my two boys:


All in all, it was a very happy St. Patty's Day!