Peter's one liners

Peter has had his share of memorable thoughts to share lately, so I feel compelled to pass some along for a chuckle.

(As we sit down for pizza) "Mommy, do you think there are pizza makers in heaven?"

"Mommy I have a joke. [clearly improvising] Why did the bee... and the elephant... and the firetruck... and all the people... ride the city bus? [insert inquisitive response] Because they all wanted to go to South Carolina, silly!"

And my personal favorite, at a playdate with Bailey and Crosby, Mrs. Carolyn mentioned his upcoming birthday. His response: "We are inviting you to my pirate party with Bailey and Crosby. If you would like you can feel free to bring me an aircraft carrier!"

So, be it known that Peter has drifted slightly from requesting specific trucks. Now he wants a very specific floating fortress. Fisher-Price saw him coming from a mile away.

On a side note, Davis is well. His appetite is returning and his attitude is BACK. For those who haven't spent much time with him, know that he is one tough little boy. I laughed describing my boys the other day. Trouble finds Peter and Davis finds trouble. I've got my work cut out for me.

finish line

Did I mention Hayes is our very own superman? He finished a triathlon today in 7th place of 53 in his age group. 2nd tri ever. Yep, he's a pretty impressive guy.

We had planned to make it to the race to cheer him on, but decided last night that I would wait for him at home with the boys. He came home to signs we made posted up on the door like a high school athlete's locker. A little cheesy, I know, but we're pretty proud.

blessings

I suppose there comes a moment in parenthood when you realize that, even for the normal/healthy/easy ones, there are no guarantees.

Mine came last night.

A barbecue with a few other families was well underway with the kids singing songs and running around the yard. We had noticed that Davis was warm and planned to give him ibuprofen back at home. Then strapped into his booster at dinner, in front of four other kids, he began seizing.

I will spare the details, not because they are graphic but because I don't want to publish them for posterity. All I can say is that it was the scariest thing I've ever seen. Thank goodness for our friends. The other moms corralled the kids and got them occupied out back. Another with experience coached Hayes on what was happening and how to handle it. And one called 911 so the rescue squad was there before I could even speak to our pediatrician. And Hayes. He swooped in and never flinched, holding our sweet boy and singing to him so that even in that wacky state, he'd know his daddy was there.

As Hayes took Peter home and fielded questions about "sneezures," I elected to ride with Davis in the ambulance to Vanderbilt's Children's Hospital. Even though we suspected it was a harmless febrile seizure, I was not willing to take chances.

The following hour or two was a blur. Oxygen masks, IVs, insurance, medical history... and finally confirmation of our suspicions. Febrile seizure resulting from fever resulting from an ear infection. Benign. Hopefully an isolated incident. Looks way worse than it is. Just have to get the fever down and monitor him for any other seizures. Best. Case. Scenario.

He finally surrendered to sleep after drinking a bit and getting more medicine. We were released and back home by 11pm, and he was asleep in his crib by 11:02.

We had a pediatrician follow-up this afternoon which curiously nullified the notion of an ear infection, but we are watching his tonsils and will continue to monitor his fever. I feel reassured and dare I say comfortable with our plan, but it's one I hope never to repeat.

I have been afraid for myself before, but fear for one's own child is a whole different kind of afraid. I will be hugging my babies a little tighter today and praying for those who remain at the hospital.

So if watching all this taught me anything, if spending several hours at Children's ER showed me anything, if Hayes and our friends taught me anything, it's that superheroes don't always wear capes.

where was i?

Oh, yeah.

In the midst of renovation and in need of rejuvenation.  So off we went to Loozy-anna for a week.  Sometimes a girl just needs to touch home.  Sometimes her home needs to touch her children. 

It was a short visit.  A flurry of days spent with various friends and family, but true quality time without schedules to follow or other places to be.  The best kind of visit.  Thanks to my grandparents, my aunts and uncles who welcomed us so openly and most of all to Davis's godmother Emily, who greeted us at Mom's house the night we arrived with a hot meal and a helping hand.  A godsend to be sure. 

The boys had a blast!  They spent good playtime with cousins that they don't often see and spent some time getting to know aunts and uncles they hear about but don't know very well.  Peter learned (again) that going to Granny's results in tractor rides and getting all the cookies he wants.  Going to Aunt Myra's necessitates a stealth mission to find the candy stash.  Alas, even without candy he got his choice of cupcake, cake or petit four.  He asked me to leave him there, and I think it's because he knew he could eat all the Hershey kisses he wanted if I was gone!  I just laugh because I remember how much I loved going those very places for those same reasons, among many others.  As long as they are the ones saying yes, I just grin and nod.  As I confessed to my aunt, I can't stock that stuff at home because I'd eat it all.  They may as well enjoy it while we're on vacation.  Just like I did right alongside my boys...

My granny with my boys. 

Sweet Elizabeth -- as we left her house Peter said, "I love Elizabeth." Who can blame him?!

Davis Blue Eyes

Did I mention that he met his match?

I wanna go too!

The trip back to Nashville is noteworthy; I drove the entire way home instead of sleeping over in Birmingham.  I stopped more than usual because I needed more caffeine than usual.  11 hours on the road, 667 miles in one day.  I was in mile 638 before I heard the first whimpers of complaint from the backseat.  Whatever I did to deserve that, I wish I could bottle it. 

I, on the other hand, could do without ever hearing the audio version of the Berenstain Bears ever, ever, ever again. 

at least...

the thing about peter catching davis's coxsackie virus is that the quarantine is lasting through this week. i therefore wouldn't have any playdates; i barely left the house at all. it takes a lot for this homebody to go stir crazy, but i am there. the boys are wacko too, making this one of the longest weeks of my life.




at least he isn't afraid to step into the sandbox anymore. now he is practicing swimming.




at least he isn't running back to lick the rainwater collecting at the end of the slide. if he eats the leaf, does it count as a vegetable?

in other news, davis has mentally turned two (tantrums and all) while peter has seemingly grown up in the past few weeks. my, how quickly tables do turn.

on lake time

A weekend at the lake... in pictures

On our Pajama Cruise for breakfast

Captain and First Mate, taking a break

Cozy Peanut

...and then came the digging....

and the stripping... and the dipping...

and the demonstration of how the sand is made...

and the lunch bell...

and the wild hair...

and the cuteness...

and the silliness...

and the exhaustion...

and the long farewell until next time.

verbatim

Have I mentioned that we have been in the "why" phase of threedom? Deep, deep, deep into this phase we just stopped answering. It became so exhausting to explain creatively and simply - and then there were always more whys. Our alternative grew into answering "why?" with another letter of the alphabet. Get it? Y? Over time we began to see more specific questions and haven't had to deal with it so much. Then came this morning.

On the way home from Noshville breakfast to pack the car for our trip to the lake:

P: Can I watch Jake [and the Neverland Pirates cartoon]?
H: Why?
P: Because.
H: Why?
P: Because I like it.
H: Why?
P: [growing exasperated] I don't know why I just like it!
H: Why?
P: [catching on] G!
H: Why?
P: K!
H: But why?
P: Mommy can I watch Jake please?
H: Why?
P: I'm asking Mommy so please don't interrupt me!
H: Why?
P: Daddy I'm talking to Mommy!
H: [to me] This conversation is totally reversed.
P: [as if on cue] Why?

I guess he showed us.

irony

4 1/2 years.

That is how long we waffled. We considered joining the gym for quite a while but found other ways to stay somewhat active. Well, Hayes did. I just chased the boys.

1 year.

That is how long I resisted after Hayes joined. New baby. No time. Self-conscious. Babysitting dilemma. Germy childcare area. Especially the germy childcare area. Call me silly, I know I'm a bit neurotic. I simply try to avoid sick kids.

16 days.

That is how long after I joined (and began taking the boys) that I found myself at the pediatrician's office being told that my baby has hand, foot and mouth disease, and Peter's demeanor is due either to the same illness or strep throat.

Happy Independence Day.

So, who wants to place bets on how long we can keep puny Peter out of the lake?

remodel update

We have walls!

No words can express how excited we are to see this space come together. This project has been nearly five years in the making but we had to do fun things like replacing windows, roof and flooring first.

Demo was done and framing was complete by Day 3. Plumbing and electricity soon followed; they even replaced the whole electrical panel. Sheetrock is in today and we are only on Day 12. The crew has been so great, especially considering how curious little boys have been. As I told a friend, it's not every day your home is a work site. I'm indulging them a little. ;)

View of closet (pre-wall):



View of bathroom: Davis is in the toilet area beside the shower stall (see white drain in center); additional framing to right will enclose my new linen closet.



View from bedroom into (L) small hallway with bath to left and closet to right before the curtain that will become the new bedroom entrance; dark area to right is closet



I can't imagine there is 4 weeks worth of work left to do, but we are just happy that it has been a really delightful remodeling experience. I'd have thought that was an oxymoron.

And the fact that Davis can sleep through the sawing, hammering, radio and foot traffic is nice too.

weekend at the lake

We spent this past weekend at the lake with Reenie and Boopah. After Friday's storms, the clouds disappeared and we had a beautiful weekend in the water. All of us. Davis put up a fight in the water on Friday afternoon, but after 30 minutes he was warming up to it. Then it began raining. Saturday and Sunday, he spent the whole time in his float throwing balls and playing with an empty beer bottle. Have I mentioned he loves Corona bottles? Don't even try giving him Bud Light, people.

Peter was a fish. A very sweet, cuddly, polite, excited fish. He practiced his swimming skills a good bit but mostly we just floated and kicked and splashed and jumped to our hearts' content. We are so lucky to have such a wonderful retreat at our disposal. It's already such a special place for Peter, and Davis is seeing for the first time now how awesome a place it is to be a kid.

chef boyar-p eating the pizza he made

don juan or don king?

don't get between this boy and his corona bottle

loves. the. water.

getting to love the water

especially loved naked time

hayes reliving the glory days - and trying very hard not to curse on the way down

i'm told it's one of the perks of being a boy. so be it.

pb & j picnic

spent every available moment in the water

summer

newton's third law of motion

Now it only seems fair to cover a few things that don't jive with the boys...

Peter: a disruption in routine; idle time; art; not catching on immediately; jumping dogs; cold cereal; supper; being surprised (see first item); taking what he dishes out; Davis's squeals; holding anything slimy; losing privileges; grown-ups sleeping after the street lamps turn off at the first crack of dawn; not knowing how blimps/tornadoes/computers/carousel horses/printers,etc. work

Davis: rice and gravy (saddens me greatly); being led; being told "no;" Peter's closed door; grocery carts without steering wheels; things deemed "off-limits;" stoplights; staying inside; hats; the baby gate and any other baby proofing mechanisms; too long without cheese; inside days; Mommy emptying the dryer lint trap before he can get to it; having to wait for a grown-up to finish the Corona before he gets the empty bottle to play with (see last July's beach post); Daddy leaving

a birthday party in pictures

Peter was invited to a birthday party a few weeks ago at a local park.  We made it a family affair and of course brought along the camera to capture some silliness.

peekaboo

so hot that he was mouthing the wipes for moisture - or maybe just chewing on the crinkly wrapper

after two years of help, peter finally got brave and did the fireman's pole all by himself

mama's boy

picking flowers

karate kid?

davis really stole the show as the big kids ate cupcakes.  he was so hot that daddy set him on the water fountain and turned him loose... suffice it to say, he was soaked.  and really exhausted.  

a moment in time

Peter: sporadically obsessed with space, then pirates before dinosaurs and then construction but always willing to explore the world of firetrucks; extremely polite when he wants to be; sensitive to crowds, loud noises (except sirens) and the word "no;" a hall monitor by nature; lover of pizza, zoos, travel, breakfast for dinner, playing outside, throwing, swinging, running!, line-leading, early wake-ups, occasional naps, milk, the words "why," "but" and "actually," driving heavy machinery, ring around the rosie, swimming, wrestling with Daddy and Davis, dancing with Mommy, anything that glows in the dark, playing pretend, red light green light, tv!, storytime, frozen yogurt toppings, jumping and picking flowers for Mommy before camp

Davis: the toughest little nugget I've ever seen; has begun wrestling/headbutting/asking for trouble; enjoys sitting in laps for story time and turning 3 pages at once; convinced there is something magical about my coke can; observant yet active; giddy; affectionate; fearless except for drive-through car washes; makes the sweetest sweet eyes I've ever seen; loves Chief as much as he loves any of us; patient and strong; lover of dairy, Italian, bananas and broccoli, chasing Peter and Chief, climbing stairs all by himself, reaching doorknobs, puzzles, lint traps, his daddy's voice, dancing, making music, the limelight, throwing balls, clapping (especially for himself), calling for mama and only mama because it's his one word for everything except Pop, dessert, sitting anywhere beside his brother, dancing in the kitchen, digging in drawers (comes by it honestly), playing hide and seek under blankets - alone, his bed, his blanket, and his slide... and oreos






Just one moment. They're going by so quickly!

demolition day

Where to begin? I'll give the nutshell version, but even it is kind of long. Sorry!

Peter is in summer camp this month. Three days a week and different themes throughout: first was farm week, then space week and this past week was a circus. Literally and figuratively - that's another story. Next week is construction week - he has been asking for "instruction" week since the beginning, So we are all eager for next week. He has suddenly become more interested in showing off his artwork, though he still insists on using the color blue whenever given the option. Which artist had the blue period? You just never know. Here's a mystery - he will not use the potty at school until I arrive to get him and insist that he goes before we leave. Then he goes easypeasy. That's at least 7 hours. Who has a bladder that big - or a will that strong? Jeez.

We started yet another system to reinforce good behavior and it seems to be working well. He has had some of his best big brother days lately. I so prefer his sharing with Davis and offering affection than head butting, arm twisting and toy yanking. We all have better days when those methods are not the norm.

Davis has enjoyed having three days a week with just me, even though he spends them running around warehouses and strolling through plumbing showrooms trying out faucets and toilets. He has been having a bit of separation anxiety at the church nursery and now at the gym nursery. Just a phase to work through, I suppose. He's still showing signs of teething and his canines are coming in, so I know he's in a bit of pain. Doesn't stop him from keeping up with Peter and Chief, though! He has started dabbling more with his voice, so different sounds are starting to emerge as words. Lord knows he understands everything! His favorite trick is to hold his hands up by his shoulders when we ask a question. Where is your cup, Davis? He walks around with his hands up like he's shrugging. Cher bebe, always so happy.

Why the circus, you ask?

We began a remodel this week. This means that for weeks now I have been clearing out the master bedroom, master bath, and the room-formerly-known-as-the-study-but-long-ago-became-a-storage-closet-slash-catchall-hideaway. The subsequent displacement has been easy since Hayes and I could just move downstairs. The dining room has been filled floor to about chest high with everything from clothing and bathroom gear to bookcases, our bed, books, tv, wall art... You name it, it's in the dining room. The rest? Well, it's in the demo trailer you see below.





The first work day was of course demolition day (a term that caught on quickly around here with little ears), and by day's end there were our new rooms. I mean, walls moved, new rooms framed, floors removed and new walls up. It's even better than it looked on paper. We still have a way to go, but the new bath and closet are totally worth the inconvenience. So far I have been really happy with the contractor and his crew, and thankfully they have been very patient with me and my "crew."

Summer has treated us very well. We have had plenty of park visits and birthday parties, not to mention days spent just in the backyard. Soon I will have made all my selections and decisions, and I'll be hitting then road with the boys. Hoping for some AL, LA, and maybe even ATL time with family. By and large I left July mostly unscheduled (camps and whatnot) so we could be flexible with our whereabouts. Once I'm done with the closet design and some nitpicky details, I will be happy to hand over the baton to my trusty representative and get the hell outta Dodge, so to speak.

Lastly, Hayes and I are on en route home from a weekend getaway to Washington, DC. We were visiting Matt Carroccio, a dear friend from college whom we have not seen in over 5 years. We met his first daughter as an infant but he now has two girls plus a baby boy Davis's age. We did a little sightseeing, Hayes ran the monuments and the Mall at sunrise; I slept in and enjoyed not carrying ten pounds of miscellany on my shoulders. Oh, and there was the matter of going to the US Open golf tournament. Watching precious Rory McElroy win the championship was not a bad way to spend Father's Day.

Not only did we celebrate Hayes's paternal awesomeness, but we also celebrated seven years of marriage. Go us!

negotiations

Parental discipline is hard enough to navigate without the kid changing things up on you all the time. We have had moderate success with various methods but we have yet to find one that works for more than a few months at a time. Unfortunately, the latest episodes of poor judgment have resulted in injuries critical enough to warrant disciplinary reevaluation. [Note: most injuries were sustained by yours truly, but D and H got their fair share as well.] Without said action, an ER trip was going to be next.

So we began downsizing the Bryant truck fleet. Within four hours, every truck had been confiscated. They now reside on the shelves of a closet we have been clearing out for the remodel (starts next week for those wondering).




And so began the negotiations. The letsmakeadeals. The insistence that he will listen/be a good friend/be a good brother/play nicely/be gentle if only.....

Yes, these are verbatim.

"Since you took all of my Bruder trucks, I guess we need to go to Philip's Toy Mart to get some new ones. Here, I'll get the new catalog and show you which ones I want."

"I think some new restaurants are open by Phillip's Toy Mart. Maybe we can go there for lunch."

"Mommy, I will make you a deal. I will let you pass if you give me a new truck."

"I need a truck to eat supper."

And the most gut-wrenching one of all is the silent negotiation. He has yet to poop on the potty again after his Alabama vacation over 2 weeks ago. I just know he's holding out for the promise of another damn truck.

So now the question is where to turn after all the sacred trucks are gone...

swim, bike, run... or just watch

Why yes, we are still here, digging our way out of the cicada invasion.

I must confess that I have somehow befriended the species.  I guess I was dive-bombed one too many times.  If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em, right?  The truth is, we have refused to let them spoil our fun.  We have spent our days outside just accepting the hum as the soundtrack of our summer.  I’ve even (gasp) handled more than a few - voluntarily.  It’s not that bugs gross me out, it’s just these particular beady red eyes and the croaking sound they make.  I explain to the boys that I’m challenging myself, growing as a person.   They’re unimpressed. 

That said, we have had a busy couple of weeks.  Hayes completed his first triathlon in way less time than he projected, and we were all there to watch. (see above) I was so proud of him.  And I was proud that I had the kids out of the house at 7:15 am dressed in real clothes as opposed to pajamas.  Not quite the same level of accomplishment as the triathlon, but we all have our own goals and challenges, right?  

 

Davis enjoyed a play date at the Discovery Center with Katie while Peter was in Birmingham.  She ran circles around him trying everything out, but he stayed close to the tree house and the cogs and gears wall.  Below you see him staring at the water fountain outside. 

We had an impromptu gathering for those friends who stayed in town for Memorial Day.  We discussed soldiers and their bravery several times, but Peter was most excited about Daddy getting to stay home on a Monday.  We enjoyed a beautiful afternoon with good friends, yummy treats and rocket balloons.  We marveled at how well Peter shared toys.  Suffice it to say that hasn't always been the case. 

Clara and Eleanor - two peas in a pod

Krishin brought his homemade bow and arrow - here Noah is testing it while Peter looks on in amazement.

I'm just happy to be here!

I think I've mentioned that Davis's exploratory tendencies are way more... hands on [and feet on and mouth on] than Peter's were.  I fight this every rainy morning when I'm trying to corral the troops to get in the car. 

Let's just say the battles I choose to fight have changed over the past few years.