Wrenn, Can You Say Dada?

(We're on vacation this week!!!! But I have a few posts scheduled out this week for you. Enjoy! )

Wrenn started saying "dada" the past few weeks. It's been hilarious watching Christopher try to capture it on video. He's so excited and wants to share it on Facebook. But every time he starts recording, she stops. And as soon as he stops trying, she says it.  LOL

Carter's Birthday Surprise

I love discovering new things about the boys and their personalities and character traits through behaviors. When I asked Landon what he wanted to do for his birthday with his friends, he gave me this long list of friends and had these grand party plans, including lots of specific details (ahem, like his mother).  Carter, on the other hand, gave me the names of two boys and wanted to go see a movie and have a sleepover. Simple, quiet, and low-key (like his daddy).

One of the boys wasn't able to make it so his birthday fun consisted of one really good friend and Carter was completely happy with that. The original plan was to take them to the movies to see Inside Out and have the boy sleep over.

Then I started thinking...  We got tickets to the Carolina Railhawks soccer game instead! I sent a message to the Railhawks on Twitter asking if they could do anything special for my birthday boy, which resulted in them allowing us to sit on the team bench during warm-ups!!! We didn't tell Carter our plans until we actually pulled in! The funny thing was that he was bummed for a second about not going to see the movie (!!!!!), but after I explained that we would still go see Inside Out soon, he was excited!

He loved watching the guys warm up (FROM THE TEAM BENCH!!!!!) and even got high-fives from some of them, including the goalie!

He had fun watching the game and we won 3-2! And Carter's favorite soccer player, Messi may have been replaced by a new fave...NACHO!!!

His friend slept over and they had some fun the next morning playing cars, doctor, and shooters. #boys

Don't let me forget...I have to get him to the movies soon to see Inside Out!!!

 

Carter's Day

Per the usual, Carter woke up to a floor full of balloons and a room full of streamers for his 6th birthday! I hope the kids always remember that fondly (and do it for their kids!).

We looked at his birth announcement and tiny little footprints together. He had lots of questions about my pregnancy, his birth, and him as a baby. I thoroughly enjoyed thinking back on Carter as a baby and having this conversation with him. He was such an angel as a baby.

I made him his favorite breakfast, orange rolls. I personally think everyone should start their birthday with a candle in their favorite breakfast. 

He has been wanting a Paw Patrol play set for such a long time. Every time we go to Target, he takes his money, walks over to this play set, and I have to break the news that he doesn't have enough money. He usually ends up buying a movie instead of saving his money up so that he can buy it the next time. So we bought it for him for his birthday and his reaction was everything we thought it would be! 

Also, big brother is very much into Pokemon (not just collecting, but actually playing the cards). So naturally, Carter has been wanting his own Pokemon cards. We took it a step further and got him his very own Pokemon binder too! Landon drew the most awesome Pikachu cover for it. Carter was over the moon happy. I've seen him carefully organize and reorganize his cards multiple times since getting his binder.

He got to choose how we spent the day. First, lunch at Bojangles. Yup. Bojangles. The kid doesn't like Bojangles. But it has this cool mysterious vibe because we never go there because it's too spicy for me (and for him when we went one other time in their lives). So we went. He ate lots of fries with the yummy seasoning all over them. And maybe two bites of a chicken tender. Whatever. It's your birthday, man. 

Then we had an awesome afternoon at Pullen Park. They rode the carousel and kiddie boats. We walked around the pond watching the geese and ducks. They played on the fun playground equipment. And we rode the train around the park. It's such a great park - highly, highly recommend you go if you live anywhere near the Raleigh area. It's got a cool history and was the first public park in NC.

We had a great day celebrating our Carter Bear turning 6!!!

Read about Carter at 6 years old here, our family birthday celebration here, and details about his friend birthday celebration to come...

July 4th, 2015

For the 4th of July, we went up to Red Hill, Patrick Henry's home, in VA like last year. We ate, listened to music, heard Patrick Henry's 5th great-grandson give his famous "Give me liberty or give me death" speech and read the Declaration of Independence, and watched some fireworks. We even dodged all the storms somehow!

Wrenn fell asleep in my arms right before the fireworks started. She slept through the first 2 or 3 minutes of the fireworks, then started to open her eyes at every boom. Finally, about 5 minutes into the show, she opened her eyes very wide but still facing me in my arms. I sat her up so she could watch the show. She sat as still as could be in my arms, holding onto her blankie with both hands and eyes as wide as saucers watching the fireworks show. She became startled when people applauded at the end. :)

Big Stuff

Now that Wrenn is sitting up well, she is able to ride in the grocery cart and sit in a restaurant high chair. It's like a whole new world for her and she is loving it!

Carter is SIX!

Our Carter Bear turned SIX yesterday! He is growing up so fast and has changed so much just over the past year. We love seeing the person he is turning into.

Carter is HILARIOUS! You never can anticipate what is going to come out of that little boy's mouth. We are constantly laughing from this guy. He loves life and being silly in it. And I adore that about him.

Although he loves making people laugh, he really likes his time to himself as well. I often find him playing cars in the play room by himself or sitting down reading a book away from everyone. He needs that alone time to recharge, like his daddy.

He's a tough kid. He hangs right in there with his big brother and gives mess right back to him. I've actually seen him take Landon out in a game of football. It's hard not to laugh. :P

He is obsessed with sports, particularly soccer. He plays every day in the back yard, with folks and by himself. He would rotate his Messi soccer outfit and his US soccer outfit every day if I would wash them fast enough. We plan to get him on a soccer team soon, and he keeps asking when he will start playing in a stadium!

He really excelled in school this year. He started the year not being able to read and so frustrated trying, but caught on quickly which built his confidence. He is reading Landon's chapter books that are geared a few grade levels above him, and is actually able to comprehend what he is reading. He's also really taken to reading his Bible on a daily basis, multiple times a day.

He is very structure- and routine-oriented. If there's a change, he questions everything about it. Once he understands the ins and outs of the change, he can adjust and roll with it. But he really needs that communication piece!

He went through a big change this year moving from the baby of the family to the middle child. I've been told all of these horror stories about the "middle child" but he's really figuring out his new role just great. He somewhat ignored Wrenn at first and I depended mostly on Landon for help with her, but Carter has shown much more interest in her over the past few months and has been my go-to for help. (And Landon has fallen more into pre-teen, Minecraft-obsessed compliance.) His favorite task is feeding her baby food. He probably gets more on her bib than in her mouth, but watching them is absolutely adorable.

He is going to make a really good, attentive husband. He tells me I'm pretty often. He notices when I wear something new or get a hair cut or pedicure. He gives me massages and back rubs frequently without being asked, and even rubs lotion on me! I have been laying in the bed nursing Wrenn before and I'll feel little hands rubbing lavender lotion on my legs. I don't even have to look because there's only one man in my house that would do that.

We are so proud of the person he is becoming. We absolutely adore Carter and feel so blessed to have this angel in our lives.


(We had a fun day celebrating him! Details to come...)

Paw Patrol - Landon's 9th & Carter's 6th Joint Party

For the boy's joint birthday party with family, they decided on a Paw Patrol theme (a tv show about dogs). I have noticed that I have been getting more low-key and less complicated with my parties. It's refreshing!

We had a mid-afternoon cookout with hot dogs, hamburgers, all the fixins, baked beans, mac & cheese, and chips. I also had pretzel rods (aka "fetch sticks") and Scooby Snacks graham cookies (aka "dog treats") as snacks. I served the chips and pretzels in (new and clean) dog food bowls and graham cookies in a (new and clean) dog treat container. I picked those up at the $ Tree. I set out to make "toilet water" which is a basic punch recipe (white grape juice, Sprite, Koolaid, and sugar). For toilet water, I was supposed to use blue Koolaid. Lesson learned...just because the Koolaid packet is blue, doesn't mean the actual Koolaid will be blue. So we ended up with red punch and I scrapped the "toilet water" sign (because red toilet water is just gross). I served water and beer too.

I picked up Paw Patrol invitations and napkins at my local party store and basic cups, plasticware, and divided plates at Walmart (sticking to red, blue, yellow, and green to keep with the colors of Paw Patrol). I had a Paw Patrol tablecloth and balloons...again, keeping it simple.

I made the most easiest but cutest cake - a paw print. All it was was one round cake and three cupcakes. All from one box of cake mix and one tub of icing. Easy peasy.

It was a great time getting together with family and celebrating my two sweet boys. Nine and six! Wow.

End of K & 3rd Grade

Another year has come and gone. I feel like I was just taking their "1st day of school" pictures on the front steps and dropping my little guy off for his first day of K with tears in my eyes.

The boys rocked this school year. They did so amazing and we couldn't be more proud! They also had super teachers this year! 

Carter adjusted very well to school, and excelled beyond our expectations. He is reading well above grade level, but the most impressive thing is that he comprehends it! On his final report card, he received 4s (above grade level) in Math and Reading with 3s (at grade level) on everything else.

That's my kid rocking his shorts on backwards, grabbing his "area," and picking
his nose during his end-of year performance. Future star, I tell you!

Carter and his K teacher, Ms. Vescio

 Landon matured a ton this year. He is definitely not the same boy he was back in August when he first started 3rd grade. He's a super cool kid with lots of friends and SO smart. Personality, looks, and the brains - triple threat! He finished with 4s in Math and Art, with 3s in the rest of his subjects. (He has gotten a 4 in Art every year; not sure where he got that talent from!) He did well on his very first EOG (end-of-grade tests) and MADE IT INTO THE AIG (Academically and Intellectually Gifted) PROGRAM FOR MATH!!! Here were the requirements for getting into the AIG program: he had to take a test and only the top 95th percentile (nationally) got to take a 2nd test, he took the 2nd test and only the top 95th percentile (nationally) got to take a 3rd test, he took the 3rd test and only the top 95th percentile (nationally) got to be considered for the program. They reviewed his entire school portfolio; test scores, grades, school work, teacher comments, parent comments, etc. And he made it in for Math!!! He was juuuuuuust under for Reading. We are so proud, but most importantly, he is proud of himself. The AIG program starts next school year and I think he's going to have a lot of fun with it. The boy LOVES Math.

Landon and his 3rd grade teacher, Ms. Knight

We feel so blessed to have such well-mannered children who do great in school and actually care about their schoolwork and desire to do well. You rocked the 2014-2015 school year boys. Now go enjoy your summers!

Earrings!

I took my sweet girl to Piercing Pagoda this week to get her ears pierced! I don't remember having mine pierced (I was very young) and I had been wanting to pierce hers even before she was born.

I was waiting for the 6-month mark so I could have my ped do it. But my ped said they could do it, but a place like Piercing Pagoda had the same equipment but did it more often than their nurses did. Since that conversation, I've swung by PP twice to chat with the girl, but never got her ears pierced because I thought Christopher would want to be there for it.

Last weekend when I suggested we go, he said that he is okay with her getting it done but didn't want to see it. Oh, sweet daddy.

So I decided I would take her this past Monday night. I was so excited until around lunchtime on Monday. I started having second thoughts and was feeling bad for hurting her for vanity. I talked to a few girls at work; one suggested putting Ambesol on her ears beforehand.

I was still feeling uneasy, but my nanny won me over. She shared her personal story of the agony and stress she went through as a 12 y/o girl trying to work up the nerve to go get hers pierced. So she said that I am saving her the stress in the long run! What a good perspective! What little girl doesn't want her ears pierced? And if she doesn't, she can take them out!

So...we went. My hand was shaking as I signed the paperwork. The same girl that I had talked to several times before was actually leaving when we walked up but came back to do it. I knew that was a good sign.

So I sat down in the chair with Bird on my lap. (I had put Ambesol on about 5 minutes prior.) She marked the spots. Looked good. I held Wrenn's arms down with one arm and her head back to my chest with the other. She pierced one. Wrenn started crying. She pierced the other very quickly. I stood up with Wrenn, hugging her, and she calmed right down. I'd say she cried/whimpered for about 15 seconds. And she hasn't messed with them since.

Non-event.

And look how precious!

Right after

5 minutes later

Tooth #7

Tooth number 7 came out (Landon actually PULLED/TWISTED it!!!) last Sunday night. Per usual, the tooth fairy visited and left him a golden dollar coin!

Landon's Actual 9th Birthday

We had already had the friend birthday party the weekend before and the family birthday party to come, but we couldn't let the day go by uncelebrated.

Carter worked hard on a birthday card for his big brother the day before. He asked, "Mommy, how do you spell special?" I looked over at the card and saw he had written "I hope your birthday is s..." My heart swelled.

On his birthday eve, and like everything birthday eve, the Mister and I blew up about 30 balloons (with an air pump) so I can cover the birthday boy's entire floor. And every year, the Mister blows up about 5 and says "Ok, that's enough." I make him push on and he repeats that about every 3-5 balloons after. I end up having to blow up about 10 on my own. I add streamers everywhere: the door frame, the bunk bed, the dresser, the stair banister outside of his room, and the bathroom mirror. I hope they remember this tradition fondly when they grow up, and do this for their children.

I let Landon play hooky from school and I took the day off from work. Landon asked if his baby brother could play hooky too so he could enjoy the day with him. How would I ever say no to that?

I made him his favorite breakfast, mama's scrambled eggs and cheese. (And you have to blow out a candle in your eggs!)

He also enjoyed one of his favorite beverages, an iced (decaf) hazelnut latte.

Then we headed over to the mall (with Wrenn and our nanny, Lindy, in tow). We started at Dave & Buster's (an arcade) for a little bit, then took a break to eat lunch at the food court. Landon was wearing a birthday necklace. The manager at ChickFilA, where we chose to eat, saw the birthday necklace and came over to me and asked if he could bring us all a special treat for his birthday. ChickFilA is awesome!

Then went back to Dave & Busters for some more fun while Miss Lindy took Wrenn home for a nap. I had such a great time with the boys that afternoon. They got A LOT of tickets, which they pooled together and traded for a basketball.

Landon was thrilled with his gifts. Carter gave him some magic sets. Wrenn gave him Taylor Swift's new album, 1989. That's the smile you see below.

We went out to dinner - Landon's choice, Ruckus Pizza. And had frozen yogurt afterwards. The Mister and I gave Landon our gift, a Camelbak WITH BACKPACK POCKETS! He has a Camelbak watering pack, but he's been swooning over the ones with small pockets too. We filled the pockets with a book, Pokemon cards, and candy.

I think it was definitely a good day celebrating my 9 year old, Landon!