Love is...

Yesterday was our 5th anniversary. Some say love is a warm fuzzy feeling. I say love is the gooey wet feeling of hugging your son to console him after he's just thrown up on your shirt. Poor John woke up at 6:30 and called me into his room. I was going to just let him cry it out, but for some reason (fortunately) I went in this time. Right as I knelt down to hug him he threw up. I brought him into our bed, and later downstairs, and back and forth through the morning, and he continued to throw up. He was so pitiful and my heart was just broken for him. I joked with Buck that wearing vomit was a pretty big difference from what we were wearing exactly 5 years before. John has only ever thrown up once before (it was when he was in his crib...I went to get him when he woke up early in the morning...still dark, and all I could see what dark red all around his head. I was terrified. Fortunately it turned out to be lasagne and not blood, but he still won't eat anything with red sauce). We started nervously feeding him crackers and pedialyte around lunch time and I guess the bug had already passed. By that time he was just really weak. Today he was much better. Still not full volume, but he's getting there. Somehow in the midst of that, Buck and I enjoyed our anniversary and even got out for a nice dinner together with Grandma babysitting. Did I picture all of that on my wedding day? Not really.
Today John really made me smile. I was really missing Daddy. I've mentioned before how I ask John who loves him and he says "Mama". I've started expanding it so he says family members and I tell him God loves him too. Today we were sitting in front of the computer doing that and one of his answers was Papa. I tearfully pulled up some pictures of John and Papa hiking and asked who it was. He said Papa, and even wanted to lean to the computer screen to touch him. Very touching moment, for me at least. Later in the car he said "Papa Jesus", which he hasn't said in a while. I affirmed that Papa was with Jesus, then John asked "Where Papa Jesus go?" That's his most frequent question. He asks where did just about anything go. On the way to Panera the other day I said we're almost there, and he said "Where almost there go?" Fortunately his answer is usually "right there" and that answer usually appeases him. Anyway, I answered with Heaven. He repeated Papa Jesus Heaven, then I'm almost certain he said Jesus love you. What sweet words from a 2-year-old in the beginings of faith.
Before I forget to write it, one of the cute things John says frequently,"This I found!". At least, that's what it sounds like. I know it means look at what I found. He gets so excited and says it when he finds a toy he hasn't played with for a few days, something he's been looking for, or something he knows he isn't supposed to have.

Such a Sweet Boy

Although John still has his moments (MAJOR time-out today for throwing a book at his sister), he really seems to be coming around with being a big brother and is for the most part super sweet to his little sister. I think most times when he isn't, he's over tired, and not really sweet to anyone. BUT, we'll focus on the sweet.
The other day I went for a run in the neighborhood with them (all 48 pounds...have been sore ever since!). They both did so well. I was amazed. John was just super sweet, though. First he was trying to put her pacifier in her mouth, a little more gently now. He used to shove it in pretty hard - not out of malice, just because he doesn't realize how big and strong he is. After a while I looked down and he was playing gently with her toes. It was almost like he was doing "this little piggie", but we haven't done that with him lately, so I think he was just playing. Then he started kissing her toes. Later in the run he was just holding her hand and fiddling with her fingers. He does that with me when we're snuggling, and it's so sweet. I absolutely love it. It was so cute to look down and see them like that. He's been bringing her toys and interacting with her more, too. I can't remember if I already wrote this, but they were in the back seat of the car and he was looking over at her and said "Baby Eve smile John". He talks to her in baby babble sometimes, still loves to hold her, and even shared his new train engine with her. One funny thing, I guess this shows how much he's been made to apologize to her, a lot of times when she cries he says "sorry Baby Eve". I guess, thinking over the past few weeks, all of the incidents recently have been a result of John being too rough, not of him being mean. He's even started to try to teach her to roll over. Cute cute cute.
One funny story about Eve. I think I've mentioned the Tigger stuffed animal before. It was a gift to John from Grandma and Grandpa Bucky. When he was a few months old, he didn't like to spend time on his tummy because of his reflux. The Tigger toy was perfect because I could put his chest up on Tigger's back, and the elevation made him feel better. It also gave him more of a view of the room. Eve loves it too (and John loves playing with Eve while she's on it because they're more on the same level). I had her on it yesterday while John and I were eating lunch. She started to fuss, and I thought she'd just had enough of tummy time. I decided we'd finish lunch and then I'd get her. I peeped around the corner, and she had pushed herself over Tigger's back, so her head was face-down on the floor and her feet were kicking in the air! What strong legs! It's a small enough toy, she wasn't crying because it hurt...just because she was stuck and couldn't see anything. For a second I thought to grab the camera because it was so funny, but then I thought I'd never hear the end of it...mean mother...so I saved her before taking a picture.
I haven't really written anything about bed-time. Lately Buck has been putting John to bed most nights because Eve eats around bed time. I know we both have different bed-time rituals. I think Buck's is a lot more fun (as Daddys always are). One thing we both do (John requires it) is tuck John in "snug as a bug in a rug". He's even started to want to lounge around some in the mornings, either on the couch or in our bed. He just lays around for a bit and either watches TV or we chat a bit. It's become a sweet snuggle time, but he still brings a few blankets and wants to be tucked snug as a bug in a rug. I hear he's also starting to say a lot of the prayers that Buck says with him. Oh, and Buck always says "night night John". I think John is starting to figure out the correct response to things like that, but at first he didn't. He jokes with Buck now and says "night night John", laughs, then says "night night Daddy". Again, so cute.

Bigger and Bigger

We went to the doctor today. I must be crazy taking them both at the same time. I was under the impression that John didn't have to get any more shots until he was 4. Oops, we forgot about the flu shot...silly thing turned me into a liar. John was talking about Dr. Belvin the whole morning. He couldn't wait to get through the door of the waiting room. He's never been afraid at the doctor's office. I can't imagine that he'd remember Dr. Belvin from 2 months ago, but who knows. Anyway, as soon as the nurse came to the door to call us, John dropped to the floor and refused to go back. How do they know? I carried him back and he was fine in the room. He didn't want to stand by the measuring tape, but had no problem on the scale. He wasn't too keen on Dr. Belvin looking in his ears, either, but it was no worse than trying to hold him for his haircut. Otherwise they both did great. As far as the shots went, well, they cried when they got them, but were both fine within seconds. What brave little kiddos! We went to buy a special treat for John today for being so brave. So...(drumroll)...here are the stats. John is 34 pounds (96 percentile) and 36 1/2 inches (96 percentile). Eve is 14.13 pounds (80 percentile) and 24 1/4 inches (87 percentile). No wonder my arms are so strong!!!

Lots of Development

It seems like John and Eve are both changing and growing by the minute. I can't keep up with all the funny things John says, even though I try to remember them for this blog. We were asking him about what he learned in church Saturday night on the way home and his answers were amazing to me. He was actually telling us about his time. Evidently his favorite thing is when they go to the big room and sing and dance; although he's not much of one for participation. He usually just likes to watch, or do his own thing. The memory verse speaks of God being a merciful God. He was actually saying merciful God unprompted while we were talking. I asked him if God was merciful, he said no (the answer to almost any question). I asked him if Daddy was merciful. He said yes. Surprising since he had stopped the car on the way to church to spank him! He had a picture of a rainbow. I asked him who made the rainbow and he said Noah. Not the right answer, but we'll take that from a 2-year-old! He also talked about Noah's ark and told us that Noah put animals on his ark. I think he counted to 11 or 12. Anyway, it's just so neat to ask him questions and hear what he comes up with for answers.
Yesterday we were in the car and he said "Baby Eve smile John". They were interacting and he was excited to get a smile in response. That one definitely brought a smile to my face. He's really in-tune to her needs and enjoys playing with her most of the time. It's mostly just the evenings when we have trouble with body-slamming.
Eve was the hit everywhere Saturday. A man at the blood connection cooed with her the entire time I was there, and all the girls oohed and ahhed over her. At the grocery store we had 3 or 4 stop to play with her. At church she was one of two in the nursery, with two helpers in the nursery. They went on and on about how much they enjoyed her. She is very engaging, loves to talk and smile, and is generally very well mannered and laid back. Everyone seems to love her. John was really the same way except he had a few more tummy issues. Sunday Eve found TOYS! It's like the light switched. All of a sudden she grabbed for the cow that's been hanging from her seat, and now she thinks it's the greatest thing. I've also introduced her to the exersaucer. She like it alright, but John really likes playing with her in it. It's so fun to watch. She's working on her football stance while she stands in it. Very wide stance...cracks me up with her jelly-roll thighs.
Today we're going to the doctor for her 4-month and John's 2-year well checks. I hope their scales are ready!

Poop

Yes, I entitled this entry "poop". You know it's got to be good. Friday we went to Charlotte to visit two friends from college. One has a brand new baby...one week old. You'd think that with a one-week-old baby we'd try to keep things low-key at their house, but you'd be WRONG! On top of John being a bit wild because it was mid afternoon and he'd only napped for 5 minutes, we caused much chaos. I was feeding Eve, sitting indian style on the couch. Ian, the new baby, was up for grabs, so I passed Eve off to my friend Claire and went to go wash my hands. Claire asked "are you kidding me?". I wasn't sure what she was talking about until she turned Eve around, holding her as far from her body as possible. Eve had already been changed into her extra clothes earlier in the morning because she had a blowout diaper. This time, though, it was major. It was all over her back. Suddenly I realized it was also all over my shorts, my legs, my feet, and my friends' couch! It was everywhere. It took a bit of help from all of us to clean it all up. Fortunately Jen had a bag of clothes she was going to pass down to Eve, and a pair of maternity shorts that would fit me. What a visit! The funny thing is that John did exactly the same thing at our house one evening right before Mama and Daddy came over for supper. I was changing him...and it just kept coming and coming. When Mama and Daddy came in, I was so overwhelmed that all I could say way "Don't sit on the couch!". It took a while for me to gather my thoughts, get us all changed, and get dinner ready. Oh, we have so many good poop stories!

Special Day

Today my cousin Matt and his wife Emilie came with their 15 month old twins to visit Mom, so we came to visit too. We spent a good portion of the day over there. John was such a wild man...I think he made them nervous for the months to come. Buck had to travel to NC today and was coming home late, so we decided it would be a good night for Grandma bootcamp for Eve. She hasn't been really keen on taking a bottle, and it's tough to try to get her to do it when I'm around. When I'm not around, she drinks an ounce or so, and holds out until I get there, then decides she's hungry again. Mind you, we haven't tried more than just a few times, so it's our own fault. Anyway, she's staying with Mom tonight so she doesn't have a choice. Mom left a message just a bit ago to say that Eve took a really long nap (it was a really long day for her), then drank more than I had pumped. Grandmas must have magic powers! The flip side of this is the fun part. Since Eve is spending the night at Grandmas, and Buck isn't home yet, John and I had the late afternoon and evening to ourselves and had some really fun special time together. We got to play outside (and the weather was finally very pleasant) uninterrupted. I chased him on his tractor and he chased me. Fortunately it doesn't go very fast. Which, by the way, he's gotten to be a pretty good driver. He's actually gotten the hang of steering. Anyway, we played and played. I was going to take him to Moe's for a special dinner, but he had a late lunch and didn't want to stop playing, so he skipped dinner and I'm still hungry. Finally we came in for a bath, later than usual, and after I put his pajamas on we came downstairs for a chocolate milk party. We haven't had one of those in a long time. We sat together, sipped our chocolate milk, and watched cartoons. He's still young enough to fiddle with my hands when we're cuddling. Oh, I love that so much! I let him stay up a little bit late, then had an extended getting-ready-for-bed-time. Extra stories and chit chat time. It probably wasn't so special for him, but I loved it. I'm going to have to plan that more often. Oh, and while we were watching cartoons we called Daddy to say I love you and night night. What a sweet boy.
Funny story from today...John was really falling a lot this afternoon and his legs got pretty banged up. He asked me to kiss his boo boo. I bent down and held his knee to kiss it. He grabbed my head and kept pressing it down saying "kiss, kiss, kiss, kiss, kiss". I must have kissed his poor boo boo for 15 seconds straight, laughing the whole time.

Big Weekend

This was a big weekend. John got to sleep over with Grandma Friday while we went to meet some old college friends in Clemson for dinner. From the sounds of it, he had a blast. Saturday we picked him up on our way to Clemson for the game. Eve went to her first game while John hung out with Daddy at the Esso and tailgate. It was really hot, but fortunately our seat was in the shade, so Eve didn't get overheated. We made it through the whole game with a little break at half-time. She wasn't crazy about the startling noises, mostly the cannon, but was ok with regular crowd noise. We were getting "what a cute baby" looks all day! (along with "poor baby for having to sit through this heat" looks...they didn't know our seats were in the shade). When we got back to the tailgate to catch up with Buck and John, John was covered head to toe in dirt, eating chips, and playing with a little plastic football...having a blast. He actually did really well staying around the tailgate and not getting into too much mischief. He only got a 15 minute nap, so by 5:00 we were all pretty spent. He caught up today with a super long nap. So, Eve's first game, we beat NC State. Good girl.
Today Eve taught herself how to do raspberries. Now she's doing it all the time. Figures she'd learn right before the doctor tells us to start solid food! It's really cute, though. She thinks it's a hoot. She is just so darn smiley and cute.
John had some cute things to say today. When we left church I was asking him what he learned. He was talking about the big room (the time they combine all the groups for music, etc.). He said they danced. I asked if he sang, and in the cutest matter-of-fact voice he said no. You just can't get the effect without hearing it. Buck and I were both laughing. Tonight he was so amazed by the moon. While we were driving, each time it went behind a tree he'd ask where it went, then get excited and sometimes laugh when he saw it again. I just love his sense of wonder.

Pictures!

Well, these are in no particular order, but enjoy anyway! I didn't realize how many things I had missed out on posting. I may have to post more catch-up pictures later.

John turned 2! Not too bad of a mess, but his birthday was the moment he understood that birthday equals cake, ice cream, and presents. Now he LOVES birthday parties!

We picked apples last weekend. Too hot to really enjoy it for long, but long enough to get pictures, and for him to get the idea. Eve really wasn't into it. Imagine that.
Here's a picture at the birthday party with Papa's hat.
John LOVED the tractor...until it started. Nice hair, don't ya think?
Here's Eve with her Tigger at 3 months. Not the happiest face, but you can see the size difference!
Grandma Bucky brought the family christening gown to us when she was here this summer. I'll have to get her to send me the whole story. It's absolutely BEAUTIFUL! We got a few pictures of Eve in it. Unfortunately they turned out pretty dark. Maybe we can give it another try, but it really is beautiful!

GO TIGERS!

Eve's first horse-back ride...complete with Papa's hat!
GO PACK GO!
Back to apple picking...reach reach reach!
Or just climb on Daddy's shoulders.

Catching Up

It's been a while, so here is some catch-up work.
I'll just get this one out of the way. John has really been tough lately, particularly at night, and particularly with his sister. I'm certain that a surge of testosterone runs through his veins between the hours of 4 or 5 and whenever we send him to bed. He has tons of energy and looks for things to get in trouble...even if he's getting 100% of the attention at the time. I think it's probably because he's cutting down on his naps, and he gets tired near the end of the day, but I'm not quite sure what to do about it. Last night he was sent to bed really early because he threw a hard toy and hit Eve in the head. Fortunately she didn't get a big bump or bruise, but she was pretty unhappy about it. On the flip side, I took him up to bed a bit early one night this week because he was being a little rotten. He was tired enough to lay still in bed. We talked about how I love him, and I kept asking "and who else?", and we made a big long list. I spent such a long time up with him just talking, praying, singing, and having a super special time. Before he ever said "Mama", I used to ask "Who love you?" and answer with Mama. That's how he learned to say it. I so love that if I ask him, he still says it.
This week John went through the entire alphabet. He doesn't usually get it quite right, but he's very close, and I'm very amazed. I can't really pinpoint where his verbal progress has been, but it really has changed over the past few weeks. I think he's really started to put ideas together, and actually start answering questions with an answer rather than just repeating the question or saying no. We went to a birthday party today, but Buck had band practice, so he missed it. For the first time, John started telling him all about it! It was so fun to listen to what he remembered from the party, and how he put things together to kind of tell a story. What a HUGE leap!
As for little Evelyn, I picked her up one day this week and thought, "WOW, when did she get so heavy!". She has really grown. I took a picture with her Tigger at 3 months, and I'll have to post it with some other pictures soon. She has the cutest little smile and sweet little things to say. I was giving her a bath the other night and she was so ticklish under her belly roll. Just smiling away. I really just can't believe how sweet and beautiful our children are. God has truly blessed us.
Today, as I said before, we went to a birthday party. It was at an equestrian park. Daddy had given Buck his cowboy hat. Since I've seen a lot of pictures of Daddy as a child in his cowboy outfit (that's the image that comes to mind if I think of him as a child), I really wanted to take the hat with us. Fortunately I remembered to take it and found it right before we left. I got pictures of John and Eve both on the horse with Papa's hat. John talked about riding a horse the whole way there, and of course, when we got there, was too afraid to ride the horse. He wouldn't even pet it. Eventually he wandered over to the horse, and with just a little bit of kicking (from John, not the horse), I managed to get him up on the saddle. After that the biggest task was getting him down. He loved it! The tractor, well, that was a different story. He would have nothing of it. They also had a petting zoo, and he went crazy over that. And of course, something clicked on his birthday, and he now understands that birthdays mean cake and ice cream...his two new favorites. Needless to say, he took a great nap this afternoon. I just wish I had video of him telling Buck about it. It was so cute.
Oh, I almost forgot our crazy story from last night! This week John has gotten up a few times (three times one night) crying fairly frantically. Each time he's been standing by the door ready to go downstairs and play. I don't know if it's teeth, his cold, nightmares, or what. Last night was different, though. Around 2:30 I heard him calling "help please, help please". I went to go check on him. When I looked toward his bed, I saw the craziest thing. He was laying on his back, I think, wiggling all around. Not so strange, except that he's sleeping in his crib converted to a day bed - with just a fitted sheet, and the sheet was over him...tucked on all 4 corners. The only thing I can guess is that somehow he climbed underneath it from the side, then couldn't figure out how to get out! Needless to say I put a tighter sheet on the bed for tonight!

Explosion of ...

Vocabulary. John is really learning the language well. For example, I tested him this weekend by my own example of an explosion. We were up in the bonus room playing, and I decided to test how well he knew his words.

It was quiet, so I decided to "let one fly," as they say, only to see his reaction---it really had nothing to do with the previous night's dinner---really!!!

Anyhow, John turns to me... I smile... he smiles and says "Daddy Poot," and continues on playing. He may have said "Daddy Poop," who knows.

We could hardly keep our laughter in.