Word to your mother

Mama. Mommy. Mom. Mother.  They all refer to the same person yet can mean very different things.  And I am all of these things.  But I prefer my kids to call me Mama. Or Mommy.  Or even Mom.  Not Mother.  But alas, my youngest has yet to call me Mama and my oldest has taken to calling me Mother.  Most of her 3 1/2 years so far she's called me Mama.  There have been a few phases of Mommy and Mom but she always reverts back to Mama.  But now I am Mother.  And I don't like it.  It's much to formal for my taste. And not nearly warm and loving enough. You don't cuddle and have tea parties with Mother.  Those activities are reserved for Mama and Mommy.  And when the kids grow up I will welcome being called Mom.  But I truly never expected my kids to call me Mother.  Hopefully this phase, too shall pass.  Ok, I do admit it is a little cute hearing her soft sweet voice saying, "Mother."  But, I am very much looking forward to being called Mama again, by at least one of my children.

My Funny Valentine's

I love my kids. Obviously. And I love being home with them. (Most of the time.) One of the things I love most about having two kids is seeing their love for each other. It was obvious even when Brennan was a little baby just starting to notice his world that he was fascinated by his big sister.  He would almost always smile or laugh when she looked at him and especially when she talked to him.  And she has been enamored with him from day one.  Granted, there have been moments of jealousy and times she gets frustrated with him for touching her things.  But she truly loves him.  And she says so often.  Usually in a voice that makes me think of an old lady pinching a little kid's cheek and saying, "Well aren't you just the cutest little thing?"  And now that Brennan is bigger and crawling and walking around, it brings such joy to my heart to sit back and watch them interact or just listen to them play in the other room. I must admit some of that joy is because it means I can get a couple of minutes to myself to finish the dishes or check my email.  But I love when I can just sit quietly and take it in with a smile.  (I need to ingrain the images and sound of it in my memory for the days when sibling rivalry truly rears it's ugly head.)  I mean, really, what more could a mom ask for than to be able to hear her kids laughing together and see them hugging with big smiles on their faces? What a great gift for Valentine's Day. And every day.

Much to his father's chagrin, I think B might like the Princess tent even more than his sister.

Crazy hair.

A truly cheesy smile and a very serious, but sweet face.

Being goofy.

And I suppose I should also mention the beautiful flowers someone got me for Valentine's Day.  They literally just came to the door five minutes ago.  Thank you, Baby!  I love you too!

A budding Picasso

Kaelyn had her first ever Art Show at school last week.  I was super impressed with her tiny, little school for having the idea in the first place.  I so did not expect anything like this.  And I was also very impressed with the way it all came together.  They were smart enough to have three different time slots for the three different classes so it didn't get too crowded.  It was actually a very enjoyable evening and I was so excited to see all the art projects Kaelyn has been working on at school.

Kaelyn in front of her class hand print rainbow

Kaelyn adding her touch to the whole-class art project they set up and made during the show

Straw art: they blew on the paint through a straw to make these pictures

Potato stamp art

Multi-media self portrait. I think she totally captured her personality with the feathers here.

Another art project they had set up to do while we were there: marble painting.  I thought this was such a neat project we may have to try it again at home sometime.

They also had a dress-up photo booth station. Not that Kaelyn needed to dress up anymore than she was but she added a pink boa, a mardi gras mask and a magic wand to her ensemble.  I wore a mardi gras mask and B wore a pirate hat.  Unfortunately, I didn't get a picture of it on my camera but hopefully the school will send me a copy of the one they took.  I'm sure we were quite the sight!  It was a lot of fun and I'm so glad that her school places such value on art.  And all the teachers were commenting all night on how Kaelyn is such a fashionista.  So maybe we actually have a budding Vera Wang on our hands.

Little Things

So, I tend to mostly write about the big events in our life because, well, they're sort of easy to write about and of course I want to record the big things like trips, holidays and milestones.  But lately I've been feeling like the day to day little things are even more important to record.  One, they are easier to forget.  It seems like time passes so quickly and the daily life memories just flit away.  Sometimes I think back to when Kaelyn was a baby and it can be hard to remember what our days were like.  Yes, it probably has something to do with my "Mommy brain."  But I also think if we don't focus on the little things they go unnoticed or can be easily forgotten.  And two, I truly cherish my day-to-day life with the kids right now.  I want to remember how it feels sitting in our little living room on a sunny afternoon (or a rainy one) watching the kids play together, cooking in the kitchen, Kaelyn making "strawberry cafe" and Brennan putting Rudy's squeaky toy in the oven over and over again (much to Rudy's dismay), hearing their giggles and Kaelyn's motherly instructions to Brennan and then shrieks and screams as they get frustrated with each other for not sharing. So, here's a quick list of some of the little things I want to remember right now.

• Brennan never sitting still, especially in his high chair, which makes meal times quite an adventure.

Yes, folks, I did buckle him in.  And, yes, he did make it all the way on to the table at one point

• Kaelyn sleeping on the floor with about 87 blankets surrounded by her books rather than in her big comfy bed.  Why?  Let's just say it has to do with a very bad dream and a night I don't care to relive.
• She also comes out of her room an average of 4 times after bedtime.  First, "to go potty and poopy and I lost my special tuck." Second, she wants to know what time she's going to get up. Third, she wants us "to make sure there are no scary things out there." And fourth, either for no reason at all or she needs to give us some tiny piece of trash she found in her room.
• Brennan playing with Rudy's bowls (just like his sister did) and he loves ice (just like his sister).  I wonder if he'll call it "issshhe" when he starts talking too.
• Watching Brennan slowly and stiffly trying to walk and then smoothly and swiftly crawl away after he falls down.
• Brennan has been doing a lot of mimicking lately.  When he finds a brush he crawls over to either me or Kaelyn (and sometimes Matt) and "brushes" our hair.  He was also trying to feed Dada at dinner the other night.  He sometimes "washes" Kaelyn in the bath when finds the washcloth.  He also likes to pretend to stir things.
• Kaelyn asking after almost every meal if she "ate much of her dinner" and can she have treat.
• Brennan getting excited and crawling straight to Dada every day when he gets home.  He also likes to give kisses.
• Last week Brennan learned how to high-five and thinks it's the funniest game in the world.
• Kaelyn riding on Dada's back around the couch, usually with Brennan close behind, who then tries to climb on as soon as they stop.
• Brennan playing with the cars and even making an almost "vroom-vroom" sound when he pushes them around.
• Brennan trying to crawl into Kaelyn's room to get her up from nap.  When I finally let him in he crawls on top of her and gives her a hug and kiss.  She wakes up with a smile every time. 

• Brennan starting to love books and reading.  He especially likes touchy-feely books, "Dinosaur's Binkit" and "Goodnight Moon."
• Kaelyn helping me cook and wearing her apron.
• Brennan being obsessed with opening and closing the CD player in his room. I used to run to "rescue" the cd from him and put it somewhere out of reach (usually the crib). Now he takes it out and either puts it in the crib himself or looks for me to come and get it.
• Snuggling in bed in the morning with the whole family. Ok, it's a little more snuggly before B wakes up (see first item) but we some fun memories with everyone piled in.
• Brennan tackling Kaelyn.

• Kaelyn, ever the princess, in her dress up clothes or fancy dresses, gobs of jewelry, tiara and high heals. 
• Brennan being mesmerized Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy. Seriously, the other night he wouldn't stop fussing for anything - paci, being held, music - and then Jeopardy came on and he quietly sat in the middle of the room watching, not making a sound. 
• Brennan really trying to figure out how things work. He loves trying to put tops back on things, especially his baby food jars.  I've actually saved a couple just to distract him during meals while I try to shove his food in his mouth before he tries climbing on the table.
• Watching the kids play together happily in Kaelyn's princess tent. And five minutes later having to put it away because Kaelyn couldn't handle that Brennan kept tipping it over.

• And just realizing how much the kids actually love each other and how truly blessed we are.

Why... ?

Oh, the wonderful age of "why?"  Lately, Kaelyn has been asking why questions an average of about 10 times a minute.  Which I love!  No, seriously.  I love that she is so curious about the world and is trying to figure out how things work and just learn about things.  Ok, it does drive me a little bonkers sometimes too.  Because it is incessant.  And I don't always know the answer, which I am more than happy to admit to her but then she asks why I don't know.  And sometimes I just don't know how to explain it to her in terms she can understand.  And sometimes her questions just plain don't make any sense.  I really do try to answer all her 'why' questions but sometimes I have to draw a line.  I've also started teaching her that we need to look things up sometimes to find the answers.  Here are a few examples of the questions she's been asking lately.

Why do our feet have toes?  We looked this one up and found this answer. I think I'll have to bookmark this website.
Why are our tongues red?  Looked this one up too, just to make sure I wasn't giving her bad info. I was a little bit wrong.
Why does our poop smell?  Yes, she really asked me this the other day.  Somehow I avoided giving her an answer.
Why do you not like spit all over the house? Because it's gross Kaelyn and it spreads germs.
Why did I fall and hit my neck like that? Because you weren't paying attention to what you were doing.

And most of the time my answer is followed up by another "why" question. And another. And another. For example:

K: Why am I wearing my purple leggings?
Me: Because you wanted to.
K: Why did I want to?
Me: I don't know. I guess cause you like them.
K: Why do I like them?
Me: I don't know. Because you think they're pretty.
K: Why do I think they're pretty?
Me: Maybe because you like the color purple.
K: But why do I like purple?
And on, and on, and on, and...

Ah, the mind of a three-year old.  She really does know how to wear me out sometimes.

First Steps

Life as we know it is over. Brennan took his first steps two nights ago.  Don't get me wrong I was very proud of him and shrieking with excitement when he did it.  But at the same time it makes me sad (my baby boy is getting so big) and terrified (as if he didn't get into enough trouble just crawling).

Trying to put on Kaelyn's shoes.  Guess he thought sparkly princess shoes would help him walk better.

So here's how it went down.  After dinner I took him into the living room so Matt could do the dishes without a little helper (have I ever mentioned how lucky I am to have such a great husband?).  I stood him in the middle of the room.  He actually stayed standing for a bit instead of immediately sitting down.  So I grabbed a maraca, which he loves, and stood in a couple feet in front of him shaking it.

One step.
"Ah! Go Brennan!"
Two steps.
"Keep going baby!"
Three steps.
"He's walking!"
And down.

Ok, so I don't remember if those were my exact words. But you get the picture.

So big!

He took two more steps again last night.  He's not exactly off and running yet, but it won't be long.

God help us all.

Party Rocking

Party rocking. A.k.a. dance party. A.k.a B bouncing up and down and/or swaying his hips and K spinning and twirling.  A.k.a. mom and dad making fools of themselves.  Ok, maybe just mom.  Dad actually looks pretty good dancing.  I, on the other hand, seem to have lost my rhythm. Or maybe I never had any.  Either way, I dance like a white girl and before long Matt will be embarrassed to dance with me in public because I’ll be “mom-dancing.”  But that’s beside the point.  Dance parties have become popular in our house lately.  B seems to love any sort of music and will start bouncing or swaying immediately, even if it’s just Dada pounding a beat on the table.  It's especially funny when he's sitting in his highchair and the whole thing sways with him.  And Kaelyn loves to spin like a little girly-girl.  Especially in her twirly dresses or princess dress-up clothes.  And especially in her princess high heels.  So, every once in a while we turn on some music and have a little dance party.

Last week our dance parties got a new name.  Party Rocking.  Dubbed by Kaelyn.  “Party Rock” by LMFAO is one of our favorite dance party songs ever since Kaelyn learned (most) of the words last fall, thanks to her hip and cool father and aunt.  I probably wouldn’t know who LMFAO is if it weren’t for my three-year old daughter. In my defense, I usually only listen to music in the cars these days.  And if I don’t have a request for the Tangled soundtrack or Princess CD I usually keep it on WTTS, which does include some current music but not as much as the hit pop stations.  I can’t stand listening to the same 3 songs over and over on the other stations. So she definitely didn’t learn it from me.  So, anyway, one day last week the kids seemed a little bored.  I turned on the "Today's Hits"  music channel on the tv in an attempt to get up to date on what the kids are listening to these days.  (My kids are going to think I’m such a dork when they are teenagers.)  And we had a dance party.  After we had been dancing for awhile Kaelyn announced that she was “done party rocking.”  A few minutes later she decided she wanted to “party rock again.”  So, henceforth, dance parties in our house will be known as “Party Rocking.”

I put together these party rocking clips really quick so you could get an idea if you haven't seen them dancing in person.  This video could have gone on much longer but I tried to keep it brief.  And a few of you should be thanking me for deleting some incriminating scenes.