Summer 2013

Christmas 2012

16 Months!

25 pounder (50th%)

 

33.25 incher (90th%)

 

You are a Keeper!

 

 

 

 

You are really 16 1/2 months but I just took you to your 15mo checkup. Doctor said it looks like we are taking good care of you, so we have that going for us! And he didn't even mention how tan you are so I didn't get in trouble!

You are wonderful. You are a hugger and I mean a good one. You give arms around the neck squeezes and we can't get enough of them. I don't think your hair could get any blonder. You are a climber and climb up on anything. You follow your sister around constantly. You wave bye and blow kisses. You don't talk much. You pat your diaper when you poop. You love to be naked outside. You laugh when you pee outside. You love fruit and pretty much anything we give you. You shake your head no when you don't want something. You run to your room at bedtime and beat me to the rocking chair. You take one 2-2 1/2 hour nap each day. Your go to bed at 7 each night. You snuggle in bed with me each morning. You climb up for little snuggles throughout the day. You make "vroom" noises with your trucks. You love the broom. You like to help pick up the toys. You love to get tickled and you have the cutest little giggle. You instantly put your hand down my shirt and rest it between my boobs every time I am holding you - this can stop anytime please)

I could go on and on. We love you forever and ever! YOU ARE WONDERFUL!



Island Summer 2012

I was due...I have had too good of luck traveling with my kids that I was due. Our 6 hour trip to Milwaukee ended up being a 3 day ordeal. Due to thunderstorms and fires in Denver we were bumped off our flight and rescheduled a 2 day detour in Vegas. Which turned out well for us since we had a place to stay and a pool to swim in since it was 106 degrees out. Finally on our way to Milwaukee with a severely hungover person (thanks Roberto!), one kid with a fever from getting 4 molars in at once, Lily had this to say:

"Shut the front door! Are we finally going to Milwaukee?"

This was yelled as loud as can be standing in line to board our flight. It made for a definitely much needed laugh.

With a quick sleep in Milwaukee we were on our way to the Island. Our first night we left our kids with a teenager I had never met before and at this point I could have cared less, and headed out for a night to a friends wedding reception. A much NEEDED night out!

Unless you have been to the Island, you won't understand it. I love this place. I love that I can walk on the beach and ALWAYS find someone I know and can sit by. Who I can say "can you watch my kid while I take the other kid to the bathroom." and know they are perfectly ok. I love that my kids love it. I love that I can take my kids in a bar :) I love that at the end of the trip Lily was giving random people hugs just cause they said hi to her. I love that Lily was telling everyone that we were going to move there. I loved the free swimming lessons and that Lily will now go under water and swim to the raft. I love hanging out with my sister 24/7 for 3 straight weeks. I love that my brother surprised us and showed up for a quick 2 days. I love that my nephew is obsessed with Star Wars. I love that the stewardess actually suggested I pinch Brock so nobody would sit by me. I love the smile on my kids' faces when they saw their Daddy. I could go on forever...

We had a run in with Hand, Foot and Mouth disease. I could have gone without that.

Enjoy a glimpse into our Island Summer 2012



Am I Mom Enough?

Am I mom enough? You bet your ass I am. No thanks to TIME magazine. I know this is old news but it is still bugging me. I might not still be breastfeeding Lily or wearing Brock in a sling 18 hours a day or have a family bed, but I do love my kids. I love them more than anything in this world. So when I see a stupid magazine trying to sell issues with a insulting title question of "Am I Mom Enough," I take offense. I am talking only about TIME's cover, not the article itself. I have nothing against "Attachment Parenting" if that is your choice, good for you. But don't disrespect anyone else's parenting style. As a mom we have to deal with enough quilt and worry about if we are doing right by our kids. I don't need to see judgement in the supermarket isle, or on msn.com or on the today show. Good for you TIME for selling a few more issues and getting a buzz going. Shame on you for adding more stress to mom's across America.

With that being said, this week has been crazy! Lily's last week of preschool ends tonight with her moving on ceremony. I have been totally consumed with making cookies and cake pops this week that my house is a complete DISASTER! Oh and Shane's parents come on Saturday. So no rest for the weary. Friday, I might have to strap the kids to their beds Mommy Dearest style so I can get the house clean.

 Lily's last day of preschool's teddy bear picnic

 Brock enjoying the park.

 My all consuming cookie project

So I might not have been standing at the counter with boob exposed feeding my kids, but I still stayed up way past my bedtime every night decorating 50 cookies (two of which Brock managed to steal off the table). That is what I call attachment parenting!

In about 2 hours it will be a year since I went into labor with you. In about 5 hours you will be 1 year old...With tears in my eyes I try to accept this fact. Did you know that I was scared out of my mind to have you? When Lily came out and they said "It's a girl!" I sighed with relief. I thought I knew how to deal with a girl (your sister has proved that wrong!). When they told us at the ultrasound you were a boy I cried. Part of that cry was "Wow! We get to have a boy and a girl" the other part of that cry was "oh shit! what am I suppose to do with a boy". But boy oh boy, you have filled my heart. You have made me completely freak your dad out and wonder if we could have another. You have been THE best baby since day one! Your smile lights up our lives. Lily's main goal of the day is to make you laugh. You love your sister, as long as she keeps a respectable distance from you and isn't trying to squeeze the crap out of you. You follow her all day long. You  ALWAYS follow her into the bathroom. This drives me crazy. Yesterday you swirled her toothbrush in the toilet. Regardless she still loves you to pieces. We all love you to pieces. You love to cuddle. You will sit still on my lap for longer than 10 seconds. You grab for my hand to help you down/up stairs instead of swatting it away and wanting to do it yourself. You love to play peekaboo and have the cutest little laugh on the planet. You like to climb off our bed in the morning and go sit next to Ringo on his bed. You LOVE being outside. When you are outside you are constantly carrying around a golf club or a broom. You like the sandbox. You like playing in the dirt. You fit perfectly on my chest. When it is nap/bed time when we sit in the rocker you instantly put your head on my chest. I love feeling your skin on my cheek. I love these moments. I want to freeze time. I want to remember every little perfect moment with you. This has seriously been the fastest year of my life. I want to thank you for being my son. I want to thank you for being you. You completed our family in a way we didn't even know we needed. You made us all love more. We love you Brock Thomas Gaylor. To the moon and back. You are our sunshine.

5 Years/60 Months/260 Weeks/1825 Days

How are you 5? How did this time fly by us so quick?

 Days old...

 1 year....

 2 years....

 3 years...

 4 years....

5 YEARS OLD!!!!

Our baby girl, our first born, our practice baby, our adventurer, our hyper active hypo, our dreamer, our daddy's girl, our mommy needs a drink girl, our drama queen girl

I could go on and on, but right now I am so overwhelmed by the fact that you are 5 and all that goes with that. Do you know that I have to register you for kindergarten next week? Do you know that I actually had no idea that I had to do all that? Do you know that I can remember every minute of being in labor with you? You were stubborn from day one! You didn't want to come out! You have made me a parent. Sometimes I am not the perfect parent, so sorry about your bad luck on that one. Your dad and I are stubborn too. You might win some small battles but I WILL win the war :) You have made me appreciate my own mother so much more. You have made me change my outlook on life and what my priorities are. You have made me question my sanity sometimes. Until I had you I don't think I really envisioned what my life as a grown up was going to be like. Now I know that I was meant to be your mom and I get the pleasure of seeing you grow up. I just didn't realize it was going to go so fast. Your imagination has taken off! Lately you pretend to be a nurse and I get to be a doctor and our living room is full of stuffed animal patients that have a lot of ailments from a hurt bunny ear to a pelican with a broken wing. You try to give Brock the doctor responsibilities but he isn't as gentle as you would like him to be. You dance really funny. And today I heard you singing every single word to Taylor Swift's "Mean". You like to call your brother "Charlie". And for some reason you do puppy sprints from one end of the house to the other. You love to be outside and actually ran outside in the snow with no shoes or socks on because you wanted to feel it on your toes. You love school but never want to talk about it. You love to read books and I really think you are starting to recognize a lot of words on your own. You are so good at math, it amazes me sometimes. I was told that one of the things you had to know for kindergarten was to be able to count to ten and I was so impressed with how much you know beyond that.

You have personality kid! I love that about you. I love that you are a little weird. I love that you boss the babysitters around and make them do whatever you say, but also follow the rules and don't give them trouble when it is time to brush your teeth and go to bed. I love that you prepared me for Brock because I think he is going to make you look like an angel. I love your smile and the way you say "pretty pleeeeaaaase" when you want something sweet. I love that you push a chair around to the counter every time Daddy or I are cooking something. I love watching you with your dad. It makes my heart melt even though I know he is your favorite over me. I think it is funny that you talk to your poop and say goodbye when you flush. I love when you say "silly me" and go do whatever it is you forgot to do.

I could go on and on and on and on.

but seriously, 5 YEARS OLD?