8 Years

These are the flowers Jimmy got me for our anniversary on Monday.  Last year we celebrated by playing some golf, just as we had for the 6 anniversaries before, and spent the weekend at a fancy hotel in La Jolla.  This year we ate some breakfast together before Jimmy went to work.  Then Jimmy brought home some flowers and I served up some left overs.  After the kids went to bed we budgeted, argued a bit, and went to bed annoyed. Fortunately the days activities are in no way representative of these past 8 years with my best friend (we never eat breakfast together).

A Reason to Blog -Ewan Turns One!

It has been a while.  I feel like I'm in 7th grade again when I was so shy I wouldn't say anything all day unless I had to in class and then my words would get stuck in my throat and I wished I could just tell everyone I didn't really talk like that.  Thank goodness that's over.  I don't ever want to be reminded of 7th grade again.  (I take it back.  It wasn't all bad.)

When I realized Ewan turned one and I had no record of it, I finally felt motivated to get back to the blog.  If nothing else, this blog at least helps me feel a little less guilty about having given up journaling when I got married.  (Was I really only writing about boys?)

So onto my Big Bubba! He's not quite so huge now.  He hasn't really gained any weight since his 9 month check up but has gotten taller.  Now that he's closer to standard size, I  realize that I may have taken a bit of pride in my fat baby fed solely from one boob.  Whenever someone here (Colorado) says something about his size I find myself saying, "This is nothing.  You should have seen him a few months ago.  He doubled his birth weight in 8 weeks!!" It turns out you have to have known him to have any of that matter to you.  Now, he's just a solid 85th percentiler.  Nothing to gawk at but still plenty to love.  

Ewan, or as the nurse at the Doctor's office likes to call him, E-Wan, started walking just before his 1st birthday.  He stays busy trying to keep up with his big brothers and going places a one year should not go.  I would have to say he's my most willful child.  My kids are not stubborn.  They're easily distracted and quick to fall for all the usual tricks.  Ewan, on the other hand, is relentless.  He would love to be left alone to play in the trash, unroll all the toilet paper, climb on the table, pull everything within arms reach down, and climb inside every major appliance.  We are all busy.  

You know it's your third kid when you haven't given much thought to your kid's speech until they ask you about it at the 1 year check up.  When I took a minute to think about it, I realized he says, Mamma, Dadda, Ball, Book, More, Night Night, No No, and Banana (so those last 3 all sound almost the same but said in different contexts).  He loves to climb onto the little side table and look and me and say, "No No!" Pretty adorable.  He also makes really cute animal sounds for Dog, Kitty, Lamb and Fox (A fox pants like a dog...in case you were wondering). 

He's got 10 teeth already with which he likes to eat any fruit, cheese, and his vegetable of choice, broccoli.  He's not into milk yet. Ughh...he's going to be a hard one to ween. He's quick to smile and will go to anyone.  To sum up, Ewan is a busy boy who chooses playing and exploring over cuddling with Mom, every times.   He loves his Daddy, brothers and blankie.  We are so lucky to have him.

                

Unemployed

A while back I posted this picture to Instagram and Facebook with the following caption.

"If I could get fired from my job I probably would.  It's 1am, I'm going to bed and my kitchen looks like this.  Seriously, I can hear The Donald's 'You're fired!' ringing in my ear."

Today, while feeling overwhelmed by the amount of mess that has accumulated in my kitchen and front room since we arose this morning, it occurred to me that you couldn't pay someone to do what I do.  No one would ever dream of hiring ONE person to take care of their children, clean their house and provide all their meals. There are labor laws against that kind of stuff.  So, I guess I can't really expect to be the best caretaker, housekeeper and cook all the time because expecting that from anyone else would be completely unreasonable.  After this realization, I feel a bit less overwhelmed.  In fact, I think I'll leave the mess for a bit and play with the kids because if I can't do it ALL, I might as well do what's most important.

Evidence That I'm Raising A Grown Up In A 5 Year Old's Body

Duncan The Environmentalist

The other day we were debating about whether or not we should drive or walk to the park. Duncan reminded us that if we walked we would make less pollution.

Lately in his prayers he has been very mindful of the environment. He blessed the animals that they would be safe and able to adapt. Then the other night he blessed the earth that it would have a reason to be good.

Duncan The Communicator

After being kicked off the computer, he had the self awareness to warn me of his impending break down with, "Mom, I'm going to FREAK OUT!"

In the car the other day, Duncan asked if he could play on the ipad when we got home. I said that he couldn't because he had already had enough time on electronics for the day. We argued for a while until a frustrated Dunks explained that he would prefer a schedule so he knew when he could play and for how long everyday. My poor routine loving 5 year old. This won't be the last time he finds himself trying to communicate his frustration with his consistently, inconsistent mom.

He frequently speaks in acronyms. Today he came up to me and said, "MMIPMK?" I looked at him blankly and told him I had no freakin' idea what he wanted (minus the "freakin"). In case you're as lost as I was here's the translation: Mom, may I play Mario Kart? I should have known. He asks for "MK" all day. That and "CM", or "AJ", or my favorite -just "S".

Duncan The Biologist

Wrapped up in his doggy towel, he told me he wasn't able to help clean up because puppies don't have opposable thumbs.

Finlay, the little brother trying to keep up with all this animal stuff, asked me if clouded leopards lived in the forest. I said that they did to which Duncan added, "Yes, in the rain forests of Indonesia." He then went on to list animals and what parts of the world they lived in. He was in the back of the van, so I couldn't hear very well but at one point he referred to Bengal Tigers and Bangladesh. The best though was when I heard him talking about an animal that is found in North and South America and corrected himself by saying, "Or I should say, 'The Americas'."

That kid...or whatever he is.

While You're Still 6 Months

Dear Fatso (said with all the love of an adoring mamma),

You will be 7 months in a few days so lets get on with it already. At your 6 month appointment you were almost 23 pounds! 100th percentile for weight and 95th for height and 90th for head. Conclusion: You are BIG and healthy. You have 2 tiny bottom teeth. Teeth + dimple+fat face = infectious smile. You roll around, sit up and try with all your might to crawl. You get up on your knees every chance you get but have no idea what to do next. I'm sure not going to show you..I prefer to find you where I left you =) You just found your little voice. I love your babbles. You used to be an awesome sleeper but your new schedule means more cartoons and cereal for you big brothers. Ughh. I hate mornings.

***Right after I typed this, you woke up. On the bright side, I got to rock you and enjoy a rare snuggle session with you. Have I mentioned how wonderful I think you are? I couldn't have asked for a better 3rd child. You are a peaceful little guy with a bit of spunk. You have the roundest face that just begs for kisses. I am happy to oblige...all day long =) You are a doll. We all adore you. Can't wait to watch that blonde hair of yours grow.

Love,

Mom

Words With Boys

Finlay: Mom, do leopards live in Canaka or North America?

Me to Finlay: Your buns are cute!

Finlay to me: No, YOUR buns are cute!

Duncan: How can you go from being the nicest mom ever to being the meanest mom ever?

My boys love jokes. Here are a couple knock knock jokes I came up with during our improv comedy session this morning.

Knock, knock!

Who's there?

Europe.

Europe who?

Who you calling poo? (said totally offended like)

Knock, knock!

Who's there?

You love.

You love who?

I love YOU!! =)

Goal!!

Duncan scored his first goal in soccer today. It was so fun to watch and celebrate. He's not the best player out there but it's so fun to see how much he loves to play. He's way more aggressive than Jimmy and I thought he would be. I forgot to take his picture so this blog post will be our little way of remembering this big day for Duncan.