Mountain Trip.

We spent a long weekend in the North Carolina mountains a few weeks ago -- we stayed north of Franklin, NC, which was about forty minutes from Highlands.  Buck and I had been to Highlands before on a "grown-up" trip pre-children (I was pregnant with Fawn at the time and could barely stomach the car sickness from the mountain driving, but we had an amazing time with wonderful friends).  Since I'm still nursing Small Fry a "grown-up" trip was out of the question this time around.  Plus, we thought Fawn was old enough to really enjoy this type of vacation.  When we were looking at houses we realized that they were all way too big for just the four of us and decided to invite friends to join us. 

Best decision ever!  Our friends have three young children -- one Fawn's age, one Small Fry's age and one in between.  It was wonderful to be on a family vacation with such a fabulous family.  Fawn loved having his best buddy (and his best buddy's little brother) to play with.  And, Buck and I really enjoyed the friendship and fellowship.  Each night we put the kids to bed before cooking our dinner, which we enjoyed on a fabulous porch with a to-die-for view of the mountains.  We followed dinner with friendly card playing.  My idea of a perfect evening -- three times in a row!  It was definitely food for the soul.

Mommy was glad to relinquish Small Fry-toting duties for the trip.  Buck carried him in this backpack (borrowed from some very outdoorsy friends of ours) the entire trip.  Small Fry LOVED it and Buck didn't seem to mind.  In fact, he said that they really bonded over the trip.

 

My three loves.  Check out the matching camo hats -- thank goodness I'm still in charge of Small Fry's wardrobe.

 

Our sweet friends -- who marvelously manage their three precious little ones.  (I felt kind of guilty that I was the only grown-up not toting a baby.)

 

Sunset Rock, Highlands, NC

 

Fawn LOVED every minute of this trip.  We hope to make it an annual affair.

 

Of course, Fawn wanted in on the picture taking (what was I thinking handing a three year old my camera on top of a mountain?!?!).  But, I'm thankful to have a shot of Buck and me.

 

After spending the first afternoon exploring the waterfalls between Franklin and Highlands, and the second day in Highlands, we ventured north to Sylva for the third day.  We went on a great hike that lead to Split Rock -- and luckily convinced these three monkeys that it was the end of the hike (no way we would have made the 7.5 mile round trip!).

 

My sweet friend and me on top of Split Rock (slightly terrifying!).  She and I went to elementary school together and were great friends -- part of a small group of inseparable girls.  Enter junior high school, different class schedules and different after school activities.  Then she transferred to private school the same year I moved to Colorado.  Fast forward to a year ago -- we go to the same church and our oldest boys love to play together.  To say that having her back in my life is a blessing is an understatement.  I love spending time with her and watching our children enjoy each other.  She provides true friendship and fellowship -- I feel like I could talk to her about just about anything for hours.  And, she inspires me to be a better mom.  She has so much fun with her kids and can always turn tears or a tantrum into smiles and laughter.

 

What a great long weekend!  And long overdue -- the first time in SIX years that Buck has taken consecutive days off of work.  I kid you not!  It made us realize that we need to do it more often.  Thanks to our awesome friends for joining us and making it so much fun!



Put Your iPod Down.

Never thought I would utter those words to my three and a half year old.  I am not a techie -- in fact, my brother always comments that Buck and I are so behind the times in terms of technology.  We did not own iPhones until this Christmas, bought our first flat screen television just last summer (as in 2011), can't really figure out how to use our Kindle, frankly we don't even understand iTunes, and we don't own an iPad. 

Fawn loves kid music, though.  And, I love walking without listening to Fawn whine in the stroller about wanting to be finished.  So, I loaded four CDs of his kid music onto an old MP3 player (not an iPod, but he doesn't know the difference).  And, he gets to listen to "his iPod" when he's in the stroller.  It's a great bribe but he sometimes has a hard time giving up his music.

Sitting at the kitchen counter while I fixed his lunch (very scary visions of what's to come...):

 

So happy to be in control of his own tunes.

First Day of School.

Sweet Fawn started 3K at his precious pre-school.  Part of me is so sad that the summer is over.  We had such a nice, relaxed time and really started to settle into a day-to-day routine of the three of us (Fawn, Small Fry and me).  And, I loved having my little buddy home with me every day.  But, for my sanity, I have to say that I'm relieved September is here.  It's not hard to have Fawn with me all the time, but he wants to be active and to have his friends to play with.  So it's exhausting to constantly plan to keep him busy, happy and thriving!  Now someone else gets to be the camp counselor/cruise ship director/pre-school teacher three mornings a week.

Fawn was so excited to start school.  Of course, in typical Fawn style he fussed about getting ready and pretended to be so sad to miss the morning with Small Fry and me.  He even claimed that he wanted to run errands!  But once we arrived at school he was beside himself with excitement.  He did not look back at me -- no kiss, no hug, no hesitation.  It hurt my feelings a bit, but I was also amazed at how much he's grown in the past year and how self-assured he is.  He even rejected my attempt to introduce him to his teachers, bypassing such pleasantries for a huge pile of matchbox cars.

I had that motherly, knot-in-your-stomach feeling all morning hoping he was enjoying himself, getting comfortable and behaving (after a summer of the crazies!).  When I picked him up he was his usual wild man self.  Even referred to me as "girl" in front of his teachers -- excellent first impression of my parenting.  He was able to tell me his teachers' names, that he went to art class today, that he didn't eat his lunch, that he played with his best friend T, and that his friend P turned four and they had cookie cake to celebrate.  For Fawn, that's quite a load of information to dump on mommy in the car ride home.  Must have been a great day.  Hoping for a fabulous year.

We started the day with Fawn's favorites for breakfast -- a buttered biscuit, a slice of bacon and grapes.

 

Posing with his new school bag.

 

Love sweet Fawn, who made me brush his hair to make sure he looked handsome.

 

A little brother love.



My Dashing Duo.

Love them both with all my heart.

Love how much they love each other.

Photographer Fawn and His Photos.

My budding photographer

Has three favorite subjects

His toys

His brother

And himself



Small Fry's (HALF) Birthday.

Of course, Small Fry had not a clue.  But, we celebrated our little angel anyway.

We made brownies, which we decorated like a cake.  And, we sang happy birthday.  Though I bought Small Fry some new pajamas and a new teething ring (those little buggers still haven't popped through), I haven't managed to give him his half birthday gifts yet.  The pj's need to be washed and the teething ring needs to be cleaned too.  Oops!  Clearly, he has no idea and Fawn hasn't pushed the issue.  Speaking of Fawn, he had a little bit of a hard time that it wasn't his half birthday again (or too? -- I wasn't quite sure what the issue was).  But, he was happy to blow out Small Fry's candle.  He was insistent that he get Small Fry a gift -- specifically he wanted to get Small Fry his own "Bow Wow" (Fawn's most beloved lovie, a Gund stuffed animal).  I could tell that he wouldn't handle going into a toy store for someone else so I avoided the issue.  We will order online!  A fabulous solution to sibling shopping.

My three boys.

Birthday boy!  We love you so much sweet thing.  You are a beautiful, happy, joyous, loving, wonderful addition to our family.  We are so blessed to call you ours and can't remember life without you in it.

And, for a trip down memory lane, here's a flashback to Fawn's original half birthday:



Month Six Update.

Half a year!  Let me repeat myself: half a year!  Cannot believe Small Fry has reached the six month mark.  His personality is unfolding more and more each day -- he's vibrant and funny.  He loves to laugh and watch others laugh.  He's a constant smiler (a boy after my own heart!).  And he is so slow to anger.  While just about anyone can make him smile and laugh, he reserves his loudest belly laughs and his broadest grins for Fawn.  He is absolutely obsessed with Fawn.  It is too cute!  And, now that Small Fry is getting closer to true playing, Fawn is much more interested in hanging out with him.  Fawn loves to help Small Fry with the ball popper and stacking toys.  Shocking to me, he is happy to continuously build towers for Small Fry to knock down.  He delights when Small Fry sends the blocks flying.

We've been busy!  We've been swimming up a storm.  Many days I just let Small Fry play outside the pool with me or my mom or grandmother, but when we get him in the pool he loves it.  We've also been to the tot lot and Overton Park, where Small Fry loves in the baby swings.  We've been to the zoo, to the library, and to the McWane Center several times.  Small Fry is becoming much more aware of his surroundings and genuinely seems interested in our activities these days.  He's even more content running errands now that he can sit in the front of a shopping cart.    


Bring on the food!  I caved when Small Fry was five and a half months old and started him on solids.  I was so resistant to the idea of starting them before six months, but he was showing all of the readiness signs and also seemed starving.  Nights were become more and more fragmented with cries of hunger.  And he was trying to nurse constantly -- even once leaving my arm with a massive hickey.  Hilarious!  So, we started with rice cereal which he absolutely loves.  We're keeping the quantity pretty low for now, but he has done great.  We've also introduced bananas (loves), apples (hates -- he makes the funniest sour face), pears (pretty yummy), carrots (loves), sweet potatoes (loves) and mango (hates -- another slightly different face of disgust).  Like I did with Fawn, I'm making all of his baby food.  It really is simple, and I love doing it.  Fawn's been a big helper in this department too!  Right now I am offering food twice a day -- lunch and dinner. 


Small Fry is an active baby.  He's doing great with the sitting up and really seems eager to crawl.  He can pull up to standing.  And, several times has stood up only to immediately fall down because he stood up without holding onto anything.  Silly boy!  I guess because he watches Fawn's antics, he thinks he can do things he's not physically ready for.  He's crazy in his crib at night -- flipping and turning this way and that.  I never know in what position I'll find him!  And, he hates being flat on his back so he is constantly practicing his version of the baby crunch.  When the baby fat wears off, this boy will have some abs.

Small Fry survived his six month pediatrician appointment.  He's topping the scales at 19 pounds, 9 ounces which puts him in the 85th percentile.  His head is still huge -- 19 inches and 97th percentile.  His length -- we're just not sure.  Anyone with a baby knows how precarious the length measurements of a squirming baby are!  They measured Small Fry at the exact same length as our previous appointment (26.5 inches, which puts him in the 50th percentile).  That clearly isn't right -- just not sure if last time's measurement was too long or this time's measurement was too short.  Time will tell -- and it's really insignificant.  Small Fry is growing and thriving!

Month Six in Pictures.

Week 22.

Week 23.

Week 24.

Week 25.

Week 26.

Pool Days.

We are so lucky to live close to my maternal grandparents for so many reasons.  Only one of those reasons is the beautiful (and did I mention heated?) pool in their backyard (surrounded by a gorgeous garden).  I spent my childhood summers swimming the days away at their pool (they moved into the house while my mom was pregnant with my little brother, so it's the only house of theirs I've ever known).  It's unbelievable to me that I'm now raising a family of my own less than a mile and a half from them -- and my boys are spending their summers the same way I spent mine.  I sometimes find myself waiting for someone to tell me not to run by the pool or to let my food settle before I go back in the water.  But then I remember that I'm the grown-up. 

I'm lucky to have other grown-ups around to help -- namely my grandmother and my mom -- because swimming with a three-year old and a baby is tough work.  There's all the gear to load up, the snacks or picnic lunch to pack, and juggling two kiddos in water.  I couldn't do it alone -- and it wouldn't be near as enticing to do it anywhere other than my grandparents' pool.  For me, it's one of the places that defines summer.

Gotta love Fawn's yellow goggles.  I'm so proud of my little swimmer.  He's done great this summer after two weeks of intense lessons.  While I generally encourage swimming wings (and they are a must if I've got both boys by myself), he is definitely able to swim all by himself (just ask him).  He jumping off the side of the pool and even the diving board solo too!  You go Fawn!

Fawn with my precious grandmother -- Mema.  She looks more like his grandmother than his great grandmother!  And although he runs circles around most, he's no match for this energetic lady.

 Happy fish.

Fat baby in a bathing suit.



Brother Fun.

From one direction the fun looked like this...

From the other direction it looked like this.

Two smiles, two laughs, two little hearts.

One blessed mama.

Fawn's (HALF) Birthday.

I know in today's day and time parents are (rightly) criticized for too much praise of children and spoiling of children.  So some of you may be horrified that we celebrate half birthdays around here.  It's not a family tradition passed down from either side, just something I wanted to do for Fawn because his birthday is so close to Christmas -- so certainly something we will also do for Small Fry.

Buck thinks I'm crazy.  But, he also acknowledges that it's nice for me to get to do something fun and special for Fawn.  I think most fathers of little boys fall into Buck's mold -- they are the bearers of all things awesome and fun.  I can't compete with four wheelers and fishing, and I don't want to try.  Nothing will be more beneficial to Fawn and Small Fry's development than a strong bond with an amazing male role model -- their dad!  And us moms, we are the guardians of the mundane and the keepers of the little hearts.  It's a job I wouldn't change for any other, but it's easy to at times feel like the "un-fun" parent.  The one brushing teeth, combing hair, scrubbing behind ears.  The one double checking school bags, re-filling endless sippy cups, packing pint-sized lunches.  So Buck indulges me in my opportunities to make my boys feel special and dote on them.  Half birthdays are one of those.

Not only is it fun for me and Fawn, but it's been great in terms of spreading out new toys -- and being able to give toys that are now of interest that weren't six months ago.  We are not big gift givers at Christmas (we abide by the three gifts for three wise men rule).  And, we keep things very light for Fawn's January birthday.  Don't get me wrong...Fawn is not hurting for toys or for spoiling from us and his plethora of extended family.  But, it's nice to have a "reason" (even if it is basically a fake reason invented by me) to get Fawn a couple things that he is currently expressing interest in.

This year it was extra special because Small Fry was here -- not only was it great to see Fawn's excitement over his present from Small Fry but it also was a small way of showing Fawn (and not just telling him) that he is still so very important to us even though his baby brother requires more hands-on care.

Buck was worried he would miss the nighttime activities, so we did gifts and cinnamon rolls at breakfast.



So excited to be three and a half!



A popgun from daddy -- early present from the deer show at the BJCC.

PlayDoh Fun Factory from mommy.  (Am I the only one who remembers this toy?  Buck insists he's never seen one.  My brother and I sure loved ours.)

Posing with his new superhero (Phil Canteen -- a superhero army man) -- from Small Fry.  Fawn was so excited to receive this toy that he literally tackled Small Fry in his Bumbo seat to give him a hug.  Melt my heart.

All smiles with his "3.5" cookie cake -- complete with the recycled tool decorations from Father's Day.  Buck was thankfully able to stop by home post-work and pre-evening work function to sing happy birthday and eat some cookie cake.  Made Fawn's day!

Make a wish.

(By the way, we don't ALWAYS wear pajamas...just most of the time.  I'm only kind of kidding.  We did leave the house for a large chunk of the day to enjoy the beautiful Alabama sunshine at the swimming pool -- I promise!)

Our happy, loving, hilarious three and a half year old.  We love you sweet boy!



Fawn's Friday Funnies.

This week's edition is subtitled: Fawn on Christianity.

Fawn loves to sing with me and knows most of the words of the hymns I sing to him at night.  But he gets some very important words wrong.  His version of "Amazing Grace" includes: "...that saved a wrench like me."  As in a tool.  Apparently we need to introduce the concept of sinful nature.

He is starting to grasp some theological concepts, though.  Like God is big and in control of everything.  We were playing in Fawn's playroom and he found a Lego loose and out of its designated bin.  He looked at me and said: "I guess that's where God wanted that Lego.  He's in charge."

And, Fawn loves to say the blessing...like really say it and not just sing our standards.  His current version goes something like this:  "Dear God, Thank you for today.  Thank you for all of our many blessings.  Thank you for the goodness and the polite and the stuff.  Amen." 

Small Fry's Baptism.

Last Sunday, we were blessed to share in Small Fry's baptism.  It was a joyous day celebrated by our family. 

The boys demonstrated almost angelic behavior defying my fears of Small Fry spitting up all over our pastor or having a major diaper blowout in Buck's family's heirloom gown or Fawn having a bathroom accident or saying something totally inappropriate at the front of the church. 

I know I worried about really insignificant things too much (including my boys' behavior and bodily fluids!) when all that really mattered is the spiritual significance of the event: God marking His child and sealing him with His covenant.  Baptism is certainly a reminder that "my" children are not my own, but God's.  He has entrusted me to care for them, which is truly a blessing.  But, they are His children.  And, praise God they are!  I cannot imagine parenting in this fallen world without the security of the promises of Christ and His grace and salvation for Small Fry and Fawn.  In entrusting Buck and me with His children, Baptism reminds us that as parents we are to set a godly example for our children -- to teach them God's word and to pray with them and for them.  What an awesome responsibility -- one that we certainly fall short of but also strive for.

Small Fry is truly a blessing from above.  We are so honored that God chose us to parent this precious little one.



The actual Baptism.  Small Fry wasn't fazed by the water.

After Small Fry was baptized, Buck walked him around the sanctuary with Fawn and I following behind (hand-in-hand) while the congregation sang "Jesus Loves Me."  This is a new tradition at our church and I tear up every time I see it.  Another one of my insignificant worries was that I would sob during this part.  I held it together -- barely.  I didn't make eye contact with friends and mentors in the congregation because I knew I would lose it and I couldn't really sing the words myself.  But, my heart swelled with joy as I heard my favorite three-year old's voice singing every word as he held my hand.  It was so special!



A family moment when the Baptism was over.

The four of us headed home -- Small Fry was on the brink.  I think a bit overwhelmed.  Plus he was soaking wet and tired.  Fawn was eagerly anticipating the receipt of his prize for good behavior -- plus, we just wanted to make him feel special when the whole day was really centered around Small Fry.  I quickly nursed Small Fry and put him down for a catnap, while Buck started getting ready for the brunch.  Fawn was perfectly content with his new Spiderman.

We were so proud of our big boy!

We pulled off a lovely brunch, if I do say so myself, with the help of our village.  My mom painted a beautiful sign that will soon hang in Small Fry's nursery:





My mother-in-law graciously offered to arrange all of the flowers -- they were lovely.  My house looked like a garden!

My sister-in-law helped me with set-up on Saturday.  I even got out the glue gun to make a sweet burlap cross for the front door (I'm thinking of re-painting the polka dots in red and green for Christmas):

As for the menu, we kept it simple: mimosas and cranberry lemonade to drink; breakfast casserole; salad; and sweet goodies (cinnamon rolls, mini coffee cakes, and donut holes).  It was a wonderful meal of fellowship and celebration which we were honored to share with our amazing families.

So blessed to be his mommy.

My prayer is that Buck and I faithfully fulfill our Christian duty as parents in the years to come and that Small Fry grows to know and love Christ, to accept His grace, and to be hopeful in Christ's promises.  We love you sweet boy and are so thankful for you!