Holy Sickness, Batman! A Tale of Sickness, Survival, and Complete Exhaustion

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What's that you say? You haven't heard from me in a while? Yeah. About that.

But first, a pressing question: why oh why does the stomach bug always seem to hit in the middle of the night? Not cool.

Monday night's episode I wasn't expecting. After two late, fairly sleepless nights over the weekend (for good reasons like out-of-town company and a nice dinner out with family) and losing an hour of sleep because of the time change, I was ready to get in bed early and sleep my dark circles away. But at one in the morning, Noodle started with the stomach bug. Infant stomach bugs are much cleaner than toddler ones, but they're scarier too. Like I had to give the girl Pedialyte every five minutes for two hours and if she didn't pee I was going to have to take her to the ER. That kind of scary. That was a fun two hours, let me tell you. And did I mention Phil was on call that day? Good times. But that sweet girl was as good-natured as ever:

I should have known last night's episode was coming. After all, Moo did put Noodle's Pedialyte syringe in his mouth right after I told him not to touch it. Awesome sauce. To my credit, it was during that two hours of Pedialyte...every five minutes...with a toddler running around. We were outside, Noodle on a blanket in the grass, and I'd just put her syringe down after giving her a dose when Mr. You-Can't-Tell-Me-What-To-Do shows up and pops that sucker right in his mouth to pretend he's drinking medicine too. I can't totally blame him. Enter some serious denial on my part: Maybe her bug isn't contagious. Maybe she's over it already. Maybe he's immune to this. Maybe those sick germs didn't just pass from one mouth to another even though I just saw it with my own eyes. Fingers, toes, and hair crossed.

Ha.

11:45 last night: Moo gets it. We rock and read and sing and pray and sort of sleep in the chair in his room while taking breaks to hug the trashcan. Over two hours pass. And maybe--maybe--we think, he's done. And he is. We all sleep. It's after 2:00 a.m., but at 3:45 I'm up with Noodle because after two days of not eating much, she's finally hungry. Understandable, but I'm feeling like a zombie in some sort of evil alternate universe where time and sleep don't exist. She goes back to sleep, but at 6:45, she's up for the day because she's slept a good 12 hours and is ready to squeal and play. What I would give to be an infant again, I think.

This morning, I felt sick and couldn't tell if it was just the five nights in a row of almost no sleep or if I was getting what they had. I didn't even have the brain power to pray. The bags under my eyes were, as my cousin says, so big they could hold my keys. (Side note: I'm a total sucker for southern sayings like that.)

It's a good thing I married the man I did. That man was up in the night washing sheets and sitting with us when he could have been sleeping. He sent me back to bed once Noodle went down for her morning nap and I slept for THREE HOURS while he took care of Moo, who was acting mostly like himself and keeping down liquids like a champ.

So far, Phil and I have been spared. It would be some sort of miracle if I didn't get this thing, but I'm thinking lots of irrational positive thoughts like: I'm an adult, so maybe it'll affect me differently or not at all. If I haven't gotten it by now, I probably won't get it. And my favorite: I've had the stomach bug less than ten times in my life; I pretty much have a belly of steel. We shall see. I'll spare you the details of the blocked milk duct and sinus infection I've been battling this week.

There are some silver linings in these dark clouds. After all, my New Year's Word is HOPE. Phil is on "vacation" Wednesday through Friday this week to study for his boards. Poor guy won't get much studying done today, but it sure is nice to have his schedule flexible right now. I was going to take the kids to Chattanooga this week so we'd be out of his hair, but I'm glad we didn't or we'd be spreading sickness there. I also have some rockstar friends who brought me caffeine and Pedialyte when Phil was on call (thank you Jessica and Kara) and the BEST pediatrician on the planet; I'll probably never be able to move away from this city because she's so great.

So here I am blogging during nap time so I can feel like I'm doing something a little bit normal.

I'm waving the white flag.
Spring, come on already.
Sickness, leave us alone, pretty please.
And disinfectant, laundry detergent, and modern medicine, thank you.
What did people do back in the day? I think about that a lot.

What happens when you stay inside for lots and lots of days (besides going a little crazy)

My son is proving that buying our house was a phenomenal investment. Since the weather's been so cold and either he or Noodle is napping most of the day, we've spent a LOT of time inside this winter. The result? Mess and creativity.

Right now I'm typing on the couch--the one area of my living room not taken over by things like a sheet tent, a broom propping up a firetruck, and cars, cars, cars. No crevice has gone unexplored in this place. Drawers have been opened, furniture moved, cabinets emptied, closets ransacked, and beds unmade so the egg crate underneath can be a "bumpy road" for cars, cars, cars.

And as much as I hate having been quarantined to my home for so many days and weeks, here's what I love: creativity is squeezed to the surface. We're doing things we never would have done if we'd gone places. We're making our own windmills with paper and a pencil eraser. We're baking more. We're playing with every. single. toy. We're looking for new ways to use old things. We're pretending more. And it's really, really good.

That being said, I'm just a smidge excited that the forecast says we'll be in the mid-sixties this time next week. Hallelujah!

Three Things Thursday

So yeah. I'm writing this at 4:25 a.m. because BOTH my children have been awake for the past hour and a half--happy but awake. I *think* they're both asleep now, but my brain's up so this is about as good (and uninterrupted) a time as any to write.

Thing one: flash sale
I'm not into Black Friday. At all. But I've been researching sit and stand strollers for a few weeks now and finally decided on one that would work best for our family. I got on Amazon on Black Friday to look at something on my dad's wish list and decided to check out the stroller situation while I was there. Lo and behold it was on a flash sale for 40% off. They were technically all claimed, but I got on a waiting list and within minutes was "up" for purchase. Thankfully I was still at my computer and had done my homework because I had exactly three minutes to buy before I lost my claim on it. SCORE! Here's the stroller, and if you want to know all the pros and cons, let me know because I'm pretty much in love with it.

Thing two: Iron Bowl
I'm a half-hearted Georgia fan. The Iron Bowl simply means I can go grocery shopping without any lines or traffic, so I kind of can't believe I'm even writing about it right now, but when in Rome…

Moo and I heard a strange sound a few minutes before his bedtime. It was coming from outside and sounded like a bobcat wrestling a house cat. Animalistic. High-pitched. Loud. Siren-like at times. I couldn't place it. For the first time in his life, Moo was legitimately scared of a sound. "What that sound be, Mommy?" he asked over and over. It concerned him that I didn't know and he wrapped his body around mine for a good twenty minutes until I figured it out. A few minutes later, I realized that our house was eerily quiet. Phil had been home most of the day and had had football on in the background, but he'd gone back to work, and at some point I'd turned off the TV and now the silence was deafening. Curious about the outcome of  the game and knowing I'd need to know it in order to have a conversation with anyone in public the following week, I turned on the TV again, only to see post-game coverage of what must have been an incredible victory by somebody--I assumed Auburn since the field had turned into an orange and blue mass of fans. Then it hit me: the animalistic sounds I'd heard minutes before must have been neighborhood fans (or foes) reacting to the end of the game. In the streets. Because that's how we roll here in Alabama. Try explaining that one to your two year old. After that, I had to pull up Google images of fireworks so he would know what the popping sound was because that was happening in my neighborhood too. Keepin' in classy here in Alabama.

Thing three: easy winter soup recipe
Even though it's t-shirt weather over here this week, this easy slow-cooker recipe is one to tuck away for those cold nights or rainy days. Easy and delicious. What I would change:

• Use onion instead of fennel
• Use half the chicken called for and add more veggies and beans
• Use half water and half chicken stock to save on cost if you want

Moo is TWO!

So this guy turned TWO on Saturday. A week before, he and I went on a special mommy-Micah date to Party City and I let him pick out whatever themed decorations he wanted. We came home with all things Thomas, since he's recently added trains to his list of vehicle love. Thanks to a miscommunication complete non-communication between Phil and me about who was in charge of taking pictures, the day went fairly undocumented, but I'm pretty sure the little guy didn't care.

We started the day with his favorite breakfast in the whole world: donuts! Let's do the math:

2 donut holes + 2 candles = 1 happy 2-year-old.

We let him open one present from us before the party, and he carried that little golf caddy around all morning with such pride. Precious. My mom stayed with us the night before to help with the party, so he got to open his very special present from her that morning as well: VTech tracks and cars! Win.

Sixteen family members arrived at noon, so we conveniently fed and put Moo down for a nap just  before they arrived so he'd make it through the afternoon. We all ate and caught up and by the time Moo woke up, everyone was ready for cupcakes and presents. The best present of all: Moo's favorite cousin and best friend, Zeke, made the trip from Chattanooga to be there!

Here are a few things this guy is into:

• Loves his baby sister. I mean, really loves her. Of course, he really, really hates her too when I'm feeding or changing her, but other than that, he's about the most tender big brother I can imagine. He loves for me to put her in his crib with him when I get him up from his nap, and he just lies there next to her on his tummy talking to her and kissing her. He loves to tell her about what he's doing and what she should be excited about and it will be a miracle if she ever talks because he's taking care of all the talking for her.
• Still into all things with wheels. All things. We recently tried to whittle down our car collection since it's grown exponentially since he was born and we could only find two cars that he genuinely doesn't play with. 
• Sings all day long. Sings lots of songs I recognize and also makes up his own.
• Loves power tools. Got a pretend drill for his birthday and is convinced he can fix anything. If only that were true...
• Loves to pretend. His cars talk to each other. He says good night to inanimate objects. His stuffed animals might as well be real. Nuff said.
• Is extroverted and friendly. Says hello to just about anyone and anything. The other day I heard him say, "Hi, red motorcycle. Nice to meet ya, red motorcycle." Love it.
• Has a great sense of humor. He laughs easily and loves to make others laugh, often accompanied by mischievous but adorable behavior. :)
• Speaking of mischievous behavior, this guy can throw a tantrum with the best of toddlers. Thankfully, time out is pretty effective for now. 
• Has gotten into reading more and likes to read "by myself," quoting or making up parts of books and concluding with "the end."
• Loves to cook with me. I admit that sometimes I suggest making banana bread or pancakes just to stave off a tantrum. And it works. Boy can crack eegs (sort of), stir dry ingredients, and knows what the word sauté means. :)
• Is obsessed with his backpack. Noodle "gave" it to him when she was born and he wears it the entire time he's in Sunday school, except when they have to change his diaper. Pretty sure he's convinced that he's the coolest kid in the class when he wears it. Love that burgeoning independence!
• Is a little encourager. Exhibit A: my parents live on a mountain and when we drove to the top of it recently, he put his little fists up in the air and yelled, "Hurray, Mommy! You made it up the mountain!" Thanks, Moo.
• Skills: can count to 10, sing the ABCs, identify several letters, knows what letter his name starts with, can (kind of) jump, and talks and talks and talks. Oh, and he's really good at pushing mommy's buttons too. 
• Loves water...sometimes a little too much. Would play in the hose in 55 degree weather if we let him, loves to play in the rain, has no fear of pools, and would splash all the water out of the bath and onto the bathroom floor if it weren't a no-no. 
• Foods he loves: Will eat almost anything, but LOVES M&Ms, sunflower seeds, black olives, fruit leather, macaroni and cheese, banana bread, and cereal. 
• Loves to be outside and get dirty. Give him some open space, a stick, some spider webs, and some acorns and this kid could entertain himself for a while. 

We are so grateful to know and love this boy, and I'm grateful to get to spend my days with him in sweet (sometimes trying) simplicity. As he says, "Daddy work at hospital. Mommy stay home play cars with Moo." Yep, that's pretty much my job. And it's awesome.

WOAH my goodness.

It's like I've been running a 10-minute mile for the past two years, on fairly flat terrain. And now. Y'all, I'm out of shape. Now it's the same race, but someone just told me that I need to run it faster and do all kinds of crazy hills and I. Feel. Winded.

BUT. It's a good kind of winded. The pushing-yourself-beyond-what-you-think-you-can-do kind of good. The I'm-stronger-than-I-think kind of good. The this-is-so-very-worth-it kind of good.

That's what having two kids under two has been like for me. I've decided a few things in the last couple of weeks, the first being that I will probably write only in bullet points from here on out since that's about all I have time for, so here are a few thoughts from the first three weeks with two under two:

• Someone will need me 99% of the day. Someone will be crying 50% of the day. I will change an average of 15 diapers a day. I will average 5 hours of sleep a day...interrupted. It will all be fine. Really. God gives what we need for each moment, and it's enough.
• I either going to gain a bunch of weight from eating convenience food on the go all day, or lose a lot of weight because after feeding all the chicks, this mama bird might not have time to feed herself. Hopefully, it's neither of those scenarios, but you get the idea: time to eat is limited, distracted, and almost always coupled with at least one other task.
• Speaking of multi-tasking, it IS possible to nurse, feed a toddler, and feed yourself at the same time. Booyah.
• I've stopped washing my hair every day. Do the math: faster shower = more time to sleep. No-brainer. The old me would say that was gross, even though I know all the salon people out there say it's actually better for your hair to wash it less often. I liked the smell and feel of clean hair every day. But dry shampoo is awesome. And fast.
  
• Speaking of sleep, Noodle is actually a great sleeper, but she's still a newborn, so my sleep is clearly interrupted and brief. But I've started seeing all 24 hours of the day as viable time to sleep, which has made being up at weird times more bearable. Up from 1-2 a.m.? No problem. I can go to bed at 7:30 p.m. if I want to. My goal is to get at least 5 hours of sleep cumulatively in a 24-hour period. While it's not optimal sleep, it's what I've determined is functional for me. So far, I'm meeting my goal every day, and usually exceeding it a little.

On to the good stuff that doesn't need a bullet point: I LOVE MY KIDS. I love the plural of that word "kids." I love watching them together. I love that God has entrusted them to me and that we will know the goodbadugly about each other because we are family and that we'll still love each other anyway. 

A friend recently described her life with her three boys as "full," not busy, and I love that. My life is full. Full of life and challenges and joys and laughter and problem-solving and wiping tears and butts and planning and exhaustion and sheer over-the-moon amazement that this full, full life has been given to me. I guess what I'm saying is that I'm grateful. I can make all the funny/whiny comments I want about life with littles, but really I'm just thankful, and those other things are just the stuff of a full life.  

Moo brought Noodle a stick of her very own. :)

Three Things Thursday

Quick update: No baby yet and nothing new to report on that front since last week, so still a waiting game over here.

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Thing one: shows I'm watching (impressions in 3ish words)
Brooklyn Nine-Nine (hilarious, Andy Samberg, cop show)
The Mindy Project (funnyfunnyfunny)
Parenthood (heart-warming, drama, interesting story lines)
Modern Family (Phil and Claire = Phil and Cara)
New Girl (unique characters, quirky, Zoe)
The Biggest Loser (life change, inspiring)

Thing two: new recipe of the week
These applesauce cinnamon pancakes. Yum. (And still yum after freezing!)

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Note: I didn't make the cinnamon syrup that goes with it, but I'm sure it's delicious. The pancakes themselves were fluffy and had just the right blend of ingredients. Will probably be my new go-to pancake recipe.

Thing three: speaking in sentences
Moo has started saying 5-6 word sentences, and it should come as no surprise that his first sentence was about trucks: "Excavator scoops dirt in dump truck." Yes, yes it does. Smarty pants.

Also, he refers to himself as "Mike-me," which I just love, don't you?

Home Makeover: My Edition

For the first time in nearly two years, Phil and I spent several days away from Moo. Phil had a week of vacation back in August, so we took the opportunity to have a staycation, spending the first half of the week as a family doing fun things like going to the zoo and visiting cousins and the second half of the week as a couple making our house a more functional and organized space to live while Moo lived his dream at his grandparents' house. Before I get to the home makeover part, a few observations from our time without a child:

• Try as I may, sleeping past 7:00 a.m. is no longer possible.
• Eating out was actually enjoyable again--especially since I had time to taste my food and didn't once have to put my fingers in someone else's mouth to help them eat.
• With a toddler, I'm lucky if I can vacuum my house in a day; without a toddler, I can conquer the world (or at least my closets)!
• I still woke up with the theme song to Curious George in my head every morning. Could be worse, I guess.

Okay, onto the makeover! If I'd been really forward thinking, I would have had before and after pics to share, but you'll have to make do with the after and trust that it's an upgrade from the before. 

We definitely made the most of our three childless days. Phil and I are wired the same: once we start a project, we work, work, work until it's done. And we had about 20 projects on our list. (Don't worry--we played too. Out to eat a couple of times, lunch and dinner with friends, book store wandering, morning walks, etc.) 

First, the nursery. As you might recall, I'm no decorator. In fact, the idea of decorating a room makes me sweat a little. But I really like how this room is turning out--very feminine and calm without being too frilly. Prior to this week, all we had was freshly painted walls and a rug. Wish I had more pictures, a fisheye lens, and better photography skills/lighting, but you get the idea:

In a house with limited space, redoing one room means redoing parts of others too in order to make space for everything. So next we found ourselves rearranging the living room, adding a chair and this staple from IKEA to tame the toys and books:

Finally, we switched a few things around in Moo's room, which has a definite little boy look now:

Many thanks to IKEA, Craigslist, and friends/neighbors who just outright gave us things (and to my parents for keeping Moo for a few days). It's a much cheaper alternative to moving! 

Moo Update: 22 months

Is a little music man! Sings all day long and in tune. Among the jibberish and songs like "You Are My Sunshine," he often sings songs about Jesus and loves the "Hallelujah...Praise Ye the Lord" song. There's nothing quite as wonderful as hearing your child talk/sing about Jesus, even if he doesn't completely understand what he's saying yet. 

Has quite a sense of humor. Has started telling little jokes over and over again and cracking himself (and us) up.

Thinks he's so funny.

Still obsessed with all things wheels, water, and outside, as well as stuffed animals. 97% of our indoor activities involve cars and 90% of our outdoor activities involve water. Anytime you have water, outdoors, and wheels simultaneously, you get extra points.

Has a great imagination (that or he really needs a sibling). He makes his cars talk to each other and he talks to his stuffed animals as if they're real and even changes their diapers when they "make poo-poo."

Is extraverted and loves spending time with his "sins" (friends). 

Might be a runner one day. Wants to run all day long--especially when we're outside--which is partly why his legs are covered in a variety of bruises, scars, scabs, and open wounds on a regular basis. "Run, Mama!" he says. So we run. Or he does. I pretty much just waddle these days.

 

Loves sports and talks mostly about baseball and the Braves.

Totally into bugs. Wants to hold them, dig for them, catch them, touch them, talk about them.

The other night he said "Night night, Sissy" to my belly as I was putting him down. Melt. My. Heart. Already praying that those two will love and protect each other all their lives.

Really into art--especially drawing "happy saces" (crude circles) with crayons or chalk.

Artist at work

Loves to fix (or "six") things--especially if it means he gets to use Daddy's tools.

Still wants to help in the kitchen any chance he gets, so I just let him go to town learning to crack eggs, measure flour, rinse beans, etc. It's messy, but that's what brooms and vacuums are for.

Notice the flour on his mouth. Gotta taste test, people.

Is highly verbal. He recently spent a few days with my parents and when I asked my mom how the car ride went, she said he talked and talked the whole time! Right now, I love this. I'm sure I'll have a day soon when some quiet would be nice.

Knows most colors and some letters. Can count to three, but usually just says, "Two, three, six, ten!" At least it's in ascending order.

Still loves animals. As in he wants to lick the dogs back when they lick him. That kind of love.

Is starting to memorize his favorite books and "read" them on his own. 

Like his mama, he gets ornery when he's hungry. For someone so verbal, he doesn't ever tell me when he's hungry until he has an all-out temper tantrum. Sheesh!

Is happy 95% of the time. Grace. Of. God.

LOVES his daddy. If Phil is home, Moo wants to be where he is, doing what he's doing. I can't think of a better man for Moo to model his life after!

Three Things Thursday

*Apology for all the parentheses in this post. I couldn't stop myself.

Thing One: his first potty joke
Y'all. Boys start early with the potty talk and thinking it's funny. Yesterday, after changing a poopy diaper, Moo said, "Raffe make poo-poo" and then started hysterically laughing. (Raffe is his best friend/stuffed animal, seen in the picture below.) The joke went on pretty much exactly like that for a good 20 minutes. To his credit, it was kind of funny. And it gave me a chance to document his incredible smile that's hard to capture when he's on the move so much:

Thing Two: two new books on my bedside table
I haven't cracked open either one, so I can't recommend them personally, but they've both been recommended to me:

1. Unbroken: A WWII Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption by Laura Hillenbrand
2. Cinderella Ate My Daughter: Dispatches from the Front Lines of the New Girlie-Girl Culture by Peggy Orenstein

I'll let you know how they go!

Thing Three: three new recipes
With some inspiration from one of my best friends, Sarah, I've been trying to home-make more food around here. I already like to cook and make a lot of our food, but one things like breakfast food and rolls, I often take a shortcut. I'm okay with shortcuts, but am branching out a bit, so here's what this week's new recipes were:

1. Blueberry scones (They freeze well too!)
2. Banana Bread (Better than my Mom's, and that's saying something. We make this on a weekly basis over here.)
3. Southern Tomato Pie (sounds weird, but you could eat it for dessert it's so good. Even Moo likes it! No online recipe for this one; my mom gave it to me, cut out from an old newspaper.) Here ya go:

• 4 tomatoes, thickly sliced (you can use any size tomatoes, really, as long as you use enough to fill the pie crust)
• 8 fresh basil leaves (Go ahead and steal some from your neighbor's garden. Or mine.)
• 1 sweet onion sliced and sauteed until transparent
• 1 pre-baked pie shell (Here's where I use the shortcut. Feel free to make your own pie crust.)
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• 1 cup freshly grated mozzarella cheese (shortcut: buy already shredded/grated)
• 1 cup freshly grated sharp cheddar (shortcut: buy already shredded/grated)
• 1 cup mayonnaise (or half cup mayo combined with half cup sour cream to cut calories)

Place sliced tomatoes, basil and onion in pie shell (I like to mix them together first). Sprinkle with salt and pepper, if desired. Combine cheeses and mayo and spread on top of tomatoes and onions. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes or until bubbly and lightly browned. Serve warm.

For those who have smaller families, the first two recipes freeze well (banana bread could be made as muffins and frozen), so go ahead and make the full recipe and then enjoy weeks of homemade breakfast food!

Moo names his baby sister

Just for fun, every few days I ask Moo what he thinks we should name his sister. I admit it's completely for my own entertainment and not because I'm actually going to take his name suggestions into consideration. But they're awesome.

So far, the best have been:

"Mia"
"Ellis"

and my personal favorite:

"Backseat."

You should know that we talk about his sister a lot, and mostly he fixates on the idea that she'll be sitting in the backseat with him and will be his "backseat bubby (buddy)," as he says. So it only makes sense that he wants to name her "Backseat." But there are so many things wrong with naming a baby girl (or any baby, for that matter) "Backseat Johnson." Sorry, little guy. That name's not gonna fly.

P.S. Baby Girl is still nameless. Keep those suggestions comin'!

Three Things Thursday

Thing One: our trip to New Hampshire

We spent the last week in New Hampshire with 60+ members of Phil's extended family. Don't worry--it wasn't one of those family reunions where you have to wear name tags and eat three different kinds of Jell-O salad; we actually know and like each other (and the food was awesome). While the weather wasn't perfect, we made the best of it, and enjoyed reconnecting with people we'll only get to see a handful of times in our lifetimes. I've only seen most of Phil's cousins two other times before this trip (our wedding, if that even counts as spending time with people, and the last time we did this, three years ago), but they're so quick to love that I always feel welcomed. Moo did great on the planes and was obsessed with any girl of any age (oh my) as well as canoeing, kayaking, and riding on the pontoon boat--pretty much anything water-related. Love that kid's sense of adventure.

Unfortunately, I got a stomach bug toward the beginning of the week and just yesterday started feeling like myself again. I even felt like eating three mini Reeses cups and later three chocolate chip cookies, so clearly I'm back. :)

Thing Two: book rec
I recently finished reading Mindy Kaling's Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? (And Other Concerns). I always loved her on The Office and knew she was one of the writers, and I also like her new show The Mindy Project, so it was an easy summer pick for me. The book is one of those you'll finish in two days tops.

Some nonfiction is written by people who have interesting stories but who aren't writers; this isn't one of them. Because Kaling is a writer, the both what she says and how she says it is interesting and well-crafted. And really, really hilarious. I laughed out loud several times. And I almost never laugh out loud when I read. If you're looking for an easy, funny, summer read, this book is for you. (Girls only, though.)

Thing Three: funny Moo story
It was Sunday and somehow Moo knew that it was church day (possibly tipped off by the dress I wore--a rarity in my case). In the process of getting all of us dressed and out the door, Moo said "church."

"Yes, buddy. We're going to church where we learn about Jesus and how much He loves us."

(as if I was the stupidest person on the planet) "Momes."
(Translation: "No, Mommy. We don't learn about Jesus at church. We learn about Moses.")

I'm glad my VBS story time stuck with him. Here's him one day after VBS playing "Momes" at home:

Never too early! Thankfully, Jesus made a comeback this week and is all he wants to talk about (a sweet post for another day).

(And yes that's a paci in his mouth. When he's not sleeping. Don't judge. We've been going through teething hell over here the last two months. I'm fine with it.)

Lest you think life is all roses and rainbows over here...

I wanted yesterday to end.

At least ten lying-on-the-floor (or sidewalk) tantrums due to one or all of the following: teething, lack of sleep, general toddler shenanigans? Yep, we did that.

Vacuumed the house and then made muffins (what was I thinking?) with a toddler, resulting in vacuum #2? Yep. Did that too.

Burned one little boy's hand while holding him (to avoid more crying) and attempting to make an omelette at the same time? Totally did it.

Sleep-deprived child who took a 45-minute nap for the second day in a row? Oh yeah.

Husband who had to work three hours later than expected? Uh huh.

Of course I finished the night with a sneeze that made me wet myself because I've been through childbirth for the boy who made me question motherhood today.

And then I read this cliche but timely little nugget on a friend's Facebook page:

And I spent five minutes before going to bed thumbing through pictures of that boy on my phone. 

And I love every little bit of him. 

And I'd do yesterday over for him if I had to. 

And it's a good thing because today started at 5:22 a.m. with more tears. 

But. 

Today is a gift. 

Notice. 

Study. 

Pay attention. 

Relish. 

Breathe.

Pray.

Moo update: 18 months

This boy has my heart. And I'm loving the 18 month stage. Lots of communicating, sleeping well, being on the move, and being downright hilarious--I'm all about that. (Also a lot of teething, tantrums, and picky eating, but whatever.)

Here's what he's up to these days:

• Anything with wheels still tops his list of favorite things, which works out well since his daddy shares that love. School busses are the current favorite, but tractors, trucks, cars, strollers, and motorcycles are also up there. Today we read a book about busses while listening to "The Wheels on the Bus" and holding a toy bus--all at his request.
• He may have been a late walker, but he's an early talker. He says just about anything we ask him to, puts two and three words together regularly, and seems to know a few new words every day.
• He still loves stuffed animals. A large part of his day is spent wrestling or snuggling his little furry friends or handing them to me for safe keeping while he plays with something else.
• He's starting to sing and can fill in words to "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star" and "Jesus Loves Me"(sort of) on tune.
• He loves all water. I practically had to hold him back from walking straight into a pond the other day with his shoes on, and he loves to "water the plants" (and himself) with the hose. 
• He has a great little sense of humor and loves to have an audience.
• He has a soft heart toward others, often expressing sympathy for whatever emotion they're experiencing.
• He's a little helper--vacuuming, throwing trash away, digging in the garden, sweeping, paying with credit card, cleaning up, mowing the lawn, etc.
• He loves to play in our cars and pretend he's driving by pushing all the buttons and turning the steering wheel.
• He's starting to have a few friends and asks for them by name.
• He's stayed in the 95th percentile for height and 50th for weight.
• He's obsessed with playing hide and seek.

Here are a few more pictures since I just can't get enough of him:

Peek!

This boy LOVES his daddy.

The rare family picture

Totally soaked and loving it.

No time for words

Lots of blog posts in my head but no time to write now (no time to use subjects or verbs in my sentences, apparently). So, here's our month in pictures to hold you over for another week. Enjoy!

Love that face.

Workin' the sunglasses.

Eating his favorite snack: crackers and cream cheese

Pre-church play time

Such a little man.

My two favorite boys.

We DO love a good smoothie at our house!

Using his "dig-dig" with Daddy.

Scored this classic vacuum at a consignment sale!

Ready for the beach with two of his favorite people!

Can't get enough of this boy.

The best Easter pic we could get. He wasn't happy that we wouldn't let him play on the wet swing set, and no, my hair isn't that short; it's just sitting funny. But I kind of like it. Thoughts?