Favorite Friends, The Zoo, and a little Wednesday morning DRAMA

For about a month now, my best friend Shealy and I have been planning to get together with the kids over spring break and do something fun. We weighed all of our options and decided that they would come to Birmingham and we would go to the zoo. Will LOVES the zoo (well really the choo choo, but he is halfway amused by the animals too)...Kate had only been to zoolight Safari which is in December when the animals aren't out, so since it was supposed to be beautiful, those were the plans we made. They were set to arrive at our house between 9:00 and 9:30. The night before I had asked John if he would put his car seat into my car so Kate and Shealy could ride with us, maximizing our time together. He pulled my car out of the garage late Tuesday night and made the switch. I didn't think anything else about it.
Will and I were enjoying our morning when I made the mistake about 8:00 of telling Will that Mrs. Shealy and Kate Kate were on their way and we were headed to the zoo! He freaked out...I'm telling you, he loves the zoo. Problem was he wanted to go to the zoo RIGHT THEN. 2 year olds don't understand logistics. I tried explaining to him that as soon as they arrived, we would get in the car and head to the zoo. He cried for about 30 minutes straight saying "Kate Zoo Choo Choo." He even went and got his shoes and sat on the bench. Then he went to the front door and just stared out and said CAR!!!! I was about to lose it-those of you with children know how the crying of a child can put you on edge.....so I decided that I would just put Will in his car seat and he could wait in there and I would clean out my car or something until they arrived (at this point it was 8:45, so I knew they wouldn't be much longer). We walked out to my car when I realized it was locked. I never lock it in the garage but since it was in the driveway, that made sense. I proceeded to leave Will crying by the car while I ran back inside to retrieve my keys. They weren't on the bench, they weren't on the dryer, they weren't in the bathroom, they weren't in the kitchen (common places my keys have been known to "land") and then it hit me....yesterday when I got home I pulled into the garage, got out, and went to get Will out of his seat. I placed my keys right by his car seat and got him out. I never lock the door because again, it is parked in the garage. Well, John didn't know my keys were in the car, so he locked it when he finished with the car seat. I run back out to the car and sure enough there sit my keys right next to his carseat with my purse and camera in the floor board. So Shealy and Kate are about 15 minutes away and all of my belongings, including every car seat we own, is locked in my car. I began to panic a little-my sweet friends had just driven all this way only to arrive to a crying, mad baby and frustrated momma with no way to leave. I called the police department and they directed me to Pop-A-Lock, a company that comes out to unlock your car. They promised they would arrive in 40 minutes or less. Meanwhile, about 9:10 Shealy and Kate pull up. Will's cheeks are stained with tears, he doesn't want to calm down...the poor thing just wants to go to the zoo. We let them play outside for a bit on bikes and choo choos and finally about 50 minutes later, Pop-A-Lock arrives and all is well (except for them setting the car alarm off as they unlocked the car with Kate right in front of the car-to say it scared the poor thing would be an understatement!!!!). About 15 minutes later, 2 strollers are loaded, suckers are in both kids mouths, and we were off to the zoo. Don't you hate when mornings start out that way??? It is like the mood for the rest of your day has been set by the chaotic mess that ensued the first part of the morning.
We did manage to have a great time at the zoo-The Birmingham Zoo is opening up a whole new renovated part called Trails of Africa April 1st, but they were doing a sneak preview this week and I think it is going to be so nice. The elephant was out so we were able to see him up close and personal, the tiger paced back and forth in front of Kate and Will for the longest time, and the monkeys, giraffes and zebras did not disappoint either. Of course the best part for the kiddos was choo choo ride at the end! My favorite part was spending some long overdue time with my precious friend...We sooo miss the McKinnons...they were my favorite part about Auburn :) Please come back soon!!

"Aubie!"

Come on Momma!

A much needed break!!

Spring break is this week...I love being a teacher. Especially now that I have Will. It is so much fun to have a week off to play with him and be lazy in our pajamas in the mornings...go out to lunch...visit with friends!
Monday we kicked off spring break at the McWane Center with our sweet friends Melissa and Ava. Ava is 3.5 so interaction until yesterday has been more "I'm playing with you/beside you because my mommy talks to your mommy a lot and I guess this is what we are supposed to do..." But yesterday at McWane she was so precious to Will. She wanted to always hold his hand and she directed him at what activity he should do next. He would start playing and she would just oversee with her hands on her hips. It was hysterical! The main reason we went to McWane was because The Backyardigans were there for a photo op. Ava is a big fan....Will seemed indifferent. We have DVR'd some episodes so he could watch a few before we went so he would at least somewhat recognize them. While we were waiting in line I found myself laughing at some of the other moms....of course all of those moms there in line had brought their children because I am sure their kids are big fans of the show. But when their kids got scared/upset when they got up close and personal with the big, colorful moose, bird, and ?? (I'm not sure what Uniqua is), they forced them to sit next to them, talk to them, touch them. It was just funny to me-what should be something fun for the kids, turns into a nightmare in which these momma's are bound and determined that since they thought it was such a great idea and have waited in line, their kids are GOING to enjoy it. I am sure I will be one of those momma's someday :)
Here is our trip in pictures!
And just in case you noticed...yes Will is wearing the exact same outfit as he wore for Pop's birthday dinner. It is because I just picked these up at Baby Gap on Saturday and I am slightly obsessed. They are so stinkin' cute on!!

Happy 60th Birthday, Pops!!!!

On Sunday my dear ole dad turned 60. Wow that seems old. But it also seems weird that it won't be long until I'm 30...and that seems old too. I can remember when my dad turned 45 and I teased him his entire birthday that he was halfway to 90. Well now, he is halfway to 120...
I wanted to do something special for my dad since 60 is a milestone year and I can't remember doing anything special when he turned 50. With 3 grandkids now, I collaborated with my brother. We had each grand child come up with 20 reasons they love their Pops....yall they were hilarious. Some of my favorites...from Dylan "he taught me to pee off a pier," "he made my dad," "he might let me have his truck someday," and "he lets me drink dr. pepper for breakfast."
from Sutherlan..."he thinks about us all the time," "kiki is his wife," and "he loves getting mail from me." Will of course had to have help from his mom and dad, but we came up with some pretty good ones too..."he rescues me from school and takes me to yogurt mountain," "he can sound like a choo choo," "he's told me since I was born that I was above average," and "he let my daddy marry my mommy."
We typed out all of the reasons, each child had their own color/font so Pops would know who said what. We glued them all to a mat that fit in an 18X24 frame and it turned out adorable. We took a picture of the three of them while they were here this past weekend to celebrate and that is the picture that will go in the middle. Pops LOVED his gift and I think we made Pops feel pretty special.

Speaking of birthday celebrations, today marks the beginning of John's birthday week! We will celebrate his 28th birthday this Sunday!!

Weekend Project

At 27 weeks pregnant, I have to say that this pregnancy is flying by. Maybe it is having a toddler around...I don't have much time to think about whether or not I'm tired or hungry! I am trying to not be a big procrastinator and wait until the last minute to get things done to prepare for Alex's arrival so this weekend was our first big step. We shipped Will off to Kiki and Pops for all day Saturday...he even spent the night. All so that John could do this to the nursery....

This is still Will's room. We haven't made the transition to the big boy room yet (more on that later). I have gotten pretty bored with Will's nursery. Since we are having another boy, there was absolutely no reason to purchase new bedding. I just needed something to change the look of the room up a bit. My friend Holly suggested I paint stripes on an accent wall. I had never even thought to do something like that before. I talked it over with John. He was not thrilled with the idea, just because it seemed like a daunting task, and John does not love to paint. However, he thought it would look good too and so we agreed that painting would be the task for the weekend. My mom's friend had a laser level which made taping the stripes way more easier than it could have been. We taped Friday night and stripes were painted in about 30 minutes on Saturday morning. I still have several things I am going to change about the nursery, but this has already made a huge difference. We were going to do white stripes at first, but since our crib is iron and the panels (new purchase) are a taupe color, I figured white might just stand out and look sort of random.
John also painted Will's big boy room. We decided to do the big boy room, bathroom, and stripes all in the same color so it would all tie together. Picking out a neutral paint color is TOUGH!! They all looked the same to me. The lady at the paint store finally talked me into just going with what was already on walls in big boy room, bathroom, and our foyer/great room. It is Lenox Tan by benjamin moore. She just made it a bit richer by adding 3/4 more formula or something like that. I am pleased with how it turned out. John got Will's new room painted, but it took all of Saturday so we decided to save the bathroom for another day.
We have always said spring break would be our goal for transitioning Will into his new room. Last night I suddenly felt extremely anxious about this. My heart ached for him-is he going to feel kicked out, all alone in his new bed, scared, confused......I know all of this is SO silly, but I am all of the sudden freaking out about totally rocking his world. Last week we clipped off the ends of 2 of his pacis. We were planning on phasing the paci out over last week so it would be gone in time to transition to his new bed. I have totally rethought that decision. I am afraid that will be too much for the little guy. We have at least finally left it in the bed. He knows it is only for night time and he has done fine with that. He will ask for it occasionally, but can be redirected easily.
We have done everything we know to get Will excited about his new room. We are moving him out of his room because the other room is bigger and the kid has a lot of stuff. Plus, the nursery is set up and painted like a nursery...it just made sense to leave it. We have bought Will train sheets, a train night light, and we are going to take him to Build A Bear to pick out a stuffed animal that can be his snuggle buddy at night. Any other tips/tricks from those of you who have done this would be greatly appreciated!! I want to tackle this in the next 2 weeks or so because I want him to have a good 2 months or so to get adjusted before baby comes. I don't think I would be nearly as nervous if we were keeping Will in the same room.
Painting the nursery and changing it up a bit has all of a sudden made it very real to me that our family dynamics are going to be changing very soon. We are so excited about Alex, but I feel all of a sudden very protective and attached to Will. I am having a hard time thinking of moving him to his big boy room (right next door) because right now we share a wall with the nursery. He is right there. I can hear every move he makes without a monitor. I love that little boy more than I ever knew I could. Someone recently told me that when you have a child it is like your heart steps out and is now walking around outside of your body in this little person. WOW is that so true. Parenting is hard. And not just the logistics of making sure they are well nourished and well rested and well behaved. There is a whole other side where you feel their pain. You anticipate their stress and heartache.
I know I am a ball of emotions right now. I have teared up several times over just thinking about wreaking havoc on Will's little life. He is SUCH a creature of habit. I know because I made him that way. Who knows how he will do-he may do great and all of this worry is for nothing...It is just such a big change. I almost feel like we are starting daycare all over again.
So this blog has gone on for much longer than I initially intended, but I guess this is just weighing heavy on my heart. My prayer this week is for a smooth transition for Will, not just into his big boy room and his new bed, but also just the change of adding another baby to the mix. I pray they will love each other and be the best of friends. And I guess I also pray that everyone feels this way as they go from one child to two...so that I won't feel completely crazy :)

Friday Morning Breakfast Date

This is the 2nd Friday in a row that Will has woken up at 5:30. At 5:30 I am still in the bed which makes showering and getting ready for work interesting. Last Friday, I was ready by 6:05 so I decided I would take Will on a breakfast date to McDonalds. He LOVED it!!! He said O'Donalds the whole way there (We don't even really eat at McDonalds...) and then squealed "Hot Cakes! Hot Cakes!" as soon as we walked in. When I dropped him off at school he even told his teacher, "Go O'Donalds, Mama, Hot Cakes!!!" He was telling Mrs. Victoria where he had been, who took him there, and what he ate :)
I was at work yesterday from 7:30 in the morning until 9:00 at night...we had open house and a school fundraiser. Needless to say when I heard Will saying "Out bed! Out bed!" at 5:30 I wanted it all to be a bad dream. But bringing him back in my bed to snuggle made it all seem completely irrelevant that we were up so early. Being ready by 6:15, I decided a date to Chick-fil-A for breakfast was in order (and the tallest Diet Coke I could get my hands on!!!) Will is so much fun when we go for our dates. I think he knows it is a treat and feels special. This morning he ate all 3 of his chicken minis, grapes, and more hash browns than I did. He must be growing because he eats like a little pig these days! When he had 2 chicken minis left he said "Mama two chick." I said, "That's right Will....1....2......" to which he replied "3.....6!" We're working on numbers :)We talk the whole time about very important stuff.....Choo Choos, tatoos (airplanes), Aubie, our weekend plans, how to be a perfect gentelman....you know, stuff like that.I wouldn't give anything for my early mornings spent with my favorite little boy.

Officially TWO

Will turned 2 in January. However, I feel like he has crossed through the rite of passage and started acting 2 for about 2 weeks. Oh joy! It all started 2 Saturdays ago. We were having some family pictures taken-I wanted to document our little family before Alex joins us in June. I had envisioned all of us piled on the bed, barefoot, Will snuggling in between us...Oh how it did not go as I planned. For the first half he was just acting super silly, not sitting still for anything, sticking his tongue out...he thought he was hilarious. We went outside to take a few pictures and it was chilly so we didn't stay out for long. Once we came inside he was d.o.n.e. He screamed by the door, beat on it. The photographer tried taking some of just John and I to see if it would get Will interested and he proceeded to lay out on the floor, beating both fists and feet on the ground. I thought he was going to make himself throw up. At that point, we called it quits.

We had a few things going against us anyway-Will had been out of school sick from Thursday - Wednesday prior to pictures. Will and I both had the stomach bug. This was our first bout of throw up with Will and wow was it not fun. Just so unpredictable with little ones. You don't know it is going to happen until it is too late. Anyways, he returned to school the Wednesday before our pictures. Friday drop off was the worst it has been since August. I learned Friday afternoon that his favorite teacher who he loves so much and she loves him just as much had fallen down 20 steps and hurt her back. She had been off all week. This certainly threw him for a loop. We also chose to have the pictures taken at my parents house because they just have a bigger set up with much more natural light. They were not there, thinking that would help. But all Will knew was that he was at Kiki and Pops house and he wanted to play. He did not understand why they weren't there, and even more why he couldn't go downstairs and get busy playing. Finally, John worked night shift (something he has to do twice a year) the entire week before our pictures so we only saw him for a few minutes each morning. I think this really took a toll on Will not seeing his daddy at night.
Surprisingly, our photographer actually got some precious shots. Most are candids and not at all what I had pictured in my head, but they documented the stage we are in with Will perfectly :)

About a month before Will turned 2 John made the comment that he didn't think Will was ever going to talk. He said words when he wanted something, but for sure was not overly talkative. My how that has changed. In the past week he is talking in sentences, cracking us up with his perspective on life.
-His first actual sentence was about a week ago. We were riding in the car and he said "Mama go Wawa and Papou's see Gus Gus Bo Bo." Yia Yia and Papou are John's parents. Bo is their dog, and just recently John's sister got a dog that Will is obesessed with. His name is Gus but Will calls him Gus Gus.
-John picked Will up from school the other day and when I got home they were playing outside. When I walked out there Will said "Mama play outside with Dada."
-On our way to church Sunday he said "Ride in the car go to chooch." He said this the WHOLE way there.
-A few nights ago after his bath when I was getting him ready for bed I asked him what pajamas he wanted to wear and he excitedly replied "Choo Choo Chabamas!!!!"
-Anytime he falls down or hurts himself, the first thing he screams is "I'm okay I'm okay." He may start crying after but he always says "I'm okay" first.
-Every day when I pick him up from school I ask him what he did at school that day. He always replies "play choo choos play tatoos with zay zay" Zay Zay is his friend Isaiah and tattos is his word for airplanes. We have no idea where it came from but he has been saying it since about October.
-At night when we bless our dinner, Will can almost say the entire blessing. He says the bolded words "God our father, God our father, We thank you, We thank you, for our many blessings, for our many blessings, AMEN. AMEN.
-He can count to ten (sometimes he needs help). His favorite number is six. If he can't remember what comes next, he just says six!
-He can sing "Row your boat," "If you're happy and you know it," "The itsy bitsy spider," and he chimes in during the ABC's but can't sing them by himself yet. His favorite letter to say is P! :)

His favorite books are The Gobble Gobble Moo Tractor Book, Dooby Dooby Moo, Good Boy Fergus, and Kiki's Blanket. We read each of these every night. Kiki's blanket is about a little monkey who loses his blankie and goes on a search to find it. Well, on the first page it shows Kiki eating a banana. Will pitches a fit until he gets his banana. We have started having to give him half a banana right before bed just because he sees it in the book. John made a good point-at least its a banana and not candy!!

So this is where we are with Will. No new pictures to post. We have been too busy to think about the camera. Plus, Will isn't really into posing these days. While this stage of two has proven to certainly be "terrible" at times, it is equally as fun and hilarious. I try to remember that "it won't be like this for long."

Happy February!

I snapped a quick shot of Will before school this morning in his February attire. It doesn't really get any cuter....I am one lucky momma to have such an adorable Valentine!!!!