two

Dear sweet baby Davis,

It is with a heavy heart that I put on a smile for the occasion of your second birthday. Sure - I’m thrilled to celebrate you and the special day that you came into our family. It’s just that I can no longer get away with calling you a baby since you are capable of running, jumping, disagreeing and generally escaping me at nearly every turn. You are a little Houdini, indeed. Your charm is undeniable, which is good considering you’ll need it to get out of the predicaments into which your mischievous spirit will find its way.

As a second child, you have introduced us all to a new dynamic as a family of four. You have been such a good little brother for Peter, although he might argue that you knock over his buildings a few too many times. You have taught him about compromise and also how to still love while disagreeing. You are affectionate and love to hug and cuddle. One of your favorite ‘phrases’ is telling people “I love YOU!” You are a tough cookie, Davis. You hang in there with the bigger kids and you love every minute. You are quick-witted, stubborn, and smart – an explosive combination. One of our favorite stories about you is the day you saw another kid push Peter out of the way and you ran from across the room to push him back. You may be quiet at first (or maybe that’s because you’re not a big talker yet), but you are dynamite. Four years ago that kind of attitude would have frightened me but now I can appreciate that spark in our family.

This year holds lots of changes for you but I know you’re up for it. You’re up for anything. This baby in my belly is going to be your best friend and look up to you like you hung the moon, you and Peter. Won’t it be nice to be the big brother for a change?! We just really need to work on the throwing thing – or at least improve your aim.

Happy second birthday, little man. Thank you for your sweet, adventurous spirit and your ubiquitous smile.

I love you,
Mommy

He is part monkey, afterall...

Enough of all this - when can I go back to the ball pit?

Where's Peter?

Honestly, I think Peter had more fun than Davis.  And Davis had a blast.

Puppet show

Davis emerged from the back room on a motorcycle to the tune of "Bad to the Bone"

Peter and his future bride, Bailey :)

Bubble Bliss

i used to be cool

Yes, I go to bed early enough to sleep almost 11 hours at night. Yes, I have become one of "those" people who thinks Coke in the newfangled white cans tastes different. But that's not what I'm talking about. I swallowed a jagged little pill this weekend, folks. Goodbye, twenties...


...and hello, thirties (three years of 'em, anyway).


Every morning when I announce that it's time to go, Peter asks if we get to ride in the minivan. He hasn't quite grasped the idea of our new car, I suppose. What he does grasp? The sliding doors. OBSESSED.

payback is hell

So, where were you at 2:53 this afternoon?

I, friends, was crawling out of a window.

Back story - in a recent text to our parents, I wrote: "Your eldest grandson is in solitary confinement. Lock on the outside of his door and a potty pass when necessary. The little $&;! smuggled five snack (cookie) pouches and a bowl of fruit into his room and stole my iPad from the charger beside my bed. Found him watching a movie with cookie trash all around him and a chocolate mustache. Game on."

Now I admit to a few hormonal outbursts, but this pattern of behavior (and the methods used to reach such ends) breaks umpteen house rules and pushes almost every button I have. I was done. I recognize a door lock is drastic; I was desperate.

Fast forward to today, after enjoying some peaceful quiet-time, I decided to go up and get Peter early. Just before climbing into his bed for a story, he opened his door, locked it and closed it again. Smiling. @&;!

Davis was waking up and I could not get to him. No phone. Couldn't jimmy the top hinge. Couldn't find any small sharp objects (mother of the year) to pick the lock. Peter was full of "ideas" until I banished him to the top bunk to think. I then crawled out of Peter's window - into the snow - without a jacket - and jiggled every doorknob and window. To no avail. I knocked on neighbors' doors to call Hayes. Nobody was home. I crawled back through the window to warm up and attempt to settle Peter, who was both wildly excited by the adventure and a little confused by the crazy woman crawling in and out of the house.

In a last ditch effort, I thought that maybe the contractor's key was still out there. Nope. But I did have the sense to check all the drawers and cabinets on the screened porch and I found a very old key. Unsure if it even belonged to our locks, I held my breath and gave it a turn.

Thank you, sweet Jesus.

Boys were safe and I finally had access to a restroom. Clearly, we will be re-evaluating our "security measures," both inside and out. Not exactly the results we had in mind.

(sigh)

I can laugh now.

auld lang syne = times gone by

Happy 2012!!

So when it's been weeks since my last post, it's hard to know where to begin.  Add Christmas, a new year and two weeks of vacation from school and I'm as lost as someone who hasn't even been here.  Good thing we've taken pictures to document. 

First thing's first:  "I'm going to be a big brother!"

Indeed, Davis is going to claim that dubious title of "middle child."  We are expecting another Bryant in early July, and by most accounts it will either be named "Captain Hook" or "Daddy."  Have I mentioned that we are clueless when it comes to the mere possibility of a girl?! While I am still exhausted 10 minutes after waking, I'm not feeling sick anymore.  I'll take it!  I'm not the spunkiest gal to begin with, so I can function fairly well on low energy.  Add all-day-queasiness and I'm not so adequate a parent.  Glad to enter the second trimester along with a new year!


While the boys have been out of school I have tried my best, especially given my aforementioned energy level, to provide quality adventures to get us out of the house most days.  We have taken advantage of some nice days and played outside, but we have also met friends for playtime and story time at the library.  Frankly, I didn't have room in my bag for the big ol' camera, but trust me.  We went.  We saw.  They tired out. We napped.

We love Saturdays, "because Daddy doesn't go to wook!"

So many of you know that I adore Christmas card time.  I love receiving pictures of all the precious children in our lives and I love sending out cards that capture our family in a moment.  I arranged to have professional pictures taken several weeks early, as it had been pre-Davis the last time we had a family portrait.  Despite a very spirited session, the photographer assured us that she got some great pictures.  Then I found out it would be mid January before I'd see them. 

Whoops.

So off to the backyard we went for a quickie photo shoot.  Yes, bribery and threats were involved.  Here are some outtakes (not all silly - Peter was a dream due to promises of treats!):

The winner - now see what came next...

Always so smiley.  Always up to something.

And then came Christmas.  Quickly.  Peter was of course full of anticipation and questions, so we detected a bit of a cold coming on and gave him some Benadryl before bedtime.  (There was a doctor in the house!) Didn't want a repeat of last year.  We had quite a few laughs as we witnessed the medicine take effect, and before long he was conked out in bed with Davis soon to follow.  Luckily, we didn't have a whole lot to accomplish that night so we all went to bed early.  At 3:43am, we heard footsteps in our room and a little voice exclaim, "Daddy!  Santa came and he brought me the most wonderful bike I could ever have!"

So up we were, and down we went.  He was enamored.  In addition to Santa's bike he received several dress-up costumes and books, a space ship and a space tee-pee... Boopah was up for the morning so the rest of us enjoyed Peter's initial bliss and excused ourselves for a few more winks of sleep.  When Davis woke at 7:20, we did it all over again with much less fanfare.  All he wanted to play with was a new Thomas train.  Reenie ended up opening his presents but it took a while to get him to play with much else.  Even Peter enjoyed most of Davis's presents - and still does!

Trying out the new ride

One excited boy

Over the past week he has practiced in all different conditions, and we finally decided to put the training wheels on to boost his confidence.  He had mastered the balance bike so we thought he'd be okay without them, but he's about a quarter inch too short for a perfect fit.  He's doing really well and we hope to take the "stabilizer legs" off again soon.  At the rate he is growing, it won't be long at all.

So, now it's the first day of 2012.  When Peter and I talked about all the fun things happening this year (turning 5, new baby, summer vacation, etc.), I asked him what he was most excited about.  His response:  playing in the snow.  Old Man Winter, please throw us a bone!

That said, we are readying ourselves for a very special year.  While there will be lots of changes, we are blessed to have the support of such good friends and family. I wish the same for all of you.

And if you see me driving a minivan, please withhold your laughter.  I assure you, I'll be chuckling enough for the lot of us.