Milestones, Family and Normal Things

When I'm at red lights or on planes or standing in line somewhere WITHOUT my phone buzzing in my hand, I often recollect on the insanity that is family, parenthood and motherhood.  I have a little giggle to myself about all of the things that moms and dads know are just a normal part of parenthood....dirty hand prints on white walls, poop as a normal topic of conversation, sleep struggles, eating struggles, hitting, biting, pushing, backtalk, penis/vagina discussions, etc, etc, etc. You may not have experienced all of those, but you've at least experienced SOME....and THEN SOME.

We are on a new routine around here with Jack being in preschool and Mary no longer coming down to help out every week.  Luckily, we are still able to all sleep until 7am (yes, I know many of you are up MUCH earlier than that for commutes).  But once the little car light turns green?  

All hell breaks loose.  

(yes, somehow this contraption is being taken very seriously by my three year old.  The alarm is set for 7am - which is when the red light goes off and the green light comes on.  That's when he knows he can get out of bed.)

It's literally a three ring circus until we get out the door at 8am....and Matt does it alone for three days every week.  He's great at it though -- patient, calm, firm.  Every now and then, though, we have a Jackism type of morning....

It's 7:10...Jack is getting himself dressed (thank God for this kid who likes to do this and is usually good at it).  Matt is at his sink/mirror shaving.  I'm just stepping out of the shower, drying myself off when Jack walks into our bathroom.

Jack:  *very worried* "Mom, where's your PENIS?"

Me:  "Well, mommies don't have penises, just daddies."

Jack:  "Oh, that's right.  Have you seen daddy's penis?"

Me:  *smirking*  "Yes.  Yes, I have."

Jack:  *stretching his arms just as wide apart as he can* "It's SO BIG, Mom.  I mean, REEEAAALLY big."

Matt: *silent, yet smiling from ear to ear while still shaving at the mirror*

Jack:  "And, he swings it back and forth like this" *swinging his whole body from side to side*

OMG.

You just can't make this stuff up.

I really believe that taking care of these two little crazeballs is very much like taking care of my drunk friends in college.  So, in essence, college prepared me for life....just not necessarily the part I thought it would prepare me for.  So many of the conversations are the same as they were back then:

Why is the floor sticky?

Why is it when you want me to hold something that it's always wet?

Where are your shoes?

You need pants.

Do not kick your brother in the chest.

Do not squeeze your brother that hard.

Yes, I know you love him hard.

Beau - get out of the water bowl. It's not a splash pad.

You can not wear a sweater to school. It's August. In Florida.

Do not scale the stairs. You can barely walk.

Why does it take you 30 minutes to eat a piece of toast?

YOU NEED PANTS. 

Needless to say, we had a fun summer with lots of pool time and ..... fun with Grandma.  Mary took Jack on all sorts of fun adventures everyday.  They went to all of the museums in the area, gymnastics, the beach and even on (boring) errands like the grocery store and the dry cleaners.  Honestly though - Everything is entertaining with Jack talking to you!

 

Sometimes you just need to hang by the pool with pool rings on your head and a cold beverage. #SummerTime

Milestones are everywhere these days....and as I'm working through the emotion of weaning Beau from breastfeeding (THANK GOD we made it a year), Jack is starting preschool and getting a big kid room.  It's a lot for even a somewhat new inexperienced momma to handle.  There are days that I still feel very new to all of this...but I guess that feeling never goes away as you experience new things with your always growing kiddos.

 

 

We are a full fledged pre-schooling family now though....complete with making lunches every day, car lines and new friends.  I was super nervous for Jack to start school.  He's always super polite, a good sharer and does well in new environments...but has an angry streak the size of Texas in him when you tell him no to certain things.  And, good luck trying to figure out what those certain things are.  Upon his first pickup after school he told me "I made new friends, I ate my lunch and I took a nap."

Well, I guess I can't ask for much more than that.  #SuccessAtThree

"Momma!  I saved the day at school today!"

Jack also got an updated room to go with his updated new preschool life.  He's officially a big kid with a big kid bed.  Again, with the #tears.

 

Meanwhile, back at the ranch -- Beau Bear is turning ONE (#tears)....and we had some family photos made to mark the milestone.

 

  

 

He's become the new version of "wild man" as he's into everything, very demanding (give me the FOOD, lady!) and will yell at whoever he needs to get what he wants.  Where Jack was cautious, Beau is scaling the side of the house.  Where Jack was a snuggler, Beau is all business (1. Breast. 2. Crib.  Thanks, lady.).  Where Jack is tentative SOMETIMES, Beau is full speed ahead and is walking, teetering and falling everywhere.  

Do not consider - even for a second, that he will want to be held or strapped into something.

Not. Happening.

He walks, walks, walks....but mostly like a tiny drunk person with his hands above his head or holding on to his sippy cup.  When he gets super excited he walks really fast and leans his big head forward....and tumbles right over his feet.  It's only funny when the glass door isn't in front of him.  #HeartAttacksByTheSecond

 

 It's been one wild year of ups and downs and turn all arounds.....breast pumping in random places, arguing with TSA about their own rules on breastmilk, learning how to baby-proof our house on STEROIDS, teaching Jack that Beau isn't QUITE big enough to tackle yet (and then trying to explain away the tackle/choke hold move that Beau tries to put on Jack), lots of penis talk, super hewoe dress up time, Jack and Beau's scooter/tricycle time, skinned knees, Seminole game fun, Disney time and lots of love.