Will's First Auburn Game

We have taken Will to Auburn several times, and he has attended A-Day and the National Championship Celebration in the stadium, but he has never attended a regular game. We took him to the first home game this year vs. Louisiana-Monroe. I guess it has taken me so long to blog about it because it took me about a week to recover from this experience :) I told Will on the way home, we would try again when he was 7...

As our luck would have it, he was up ALL night the night before the game. He was coughing, running low grade fever, miserable! We were up basically once an hour with him and had we not already bought tickets and planned on going with our neighbors, we would have probably ditched the whole trip altogether. He finally got good and asleep at 5am, but we had to drag him out of his bed at 6am to leave (Kick off was at 11:30, and John wanted to be sure we made it to Tiger Walk). We just put Will in the car in his pjs, swung by Chick-fil-A drive thru for breakfast and we were on our way. He was so excited about going to a game and had been talking about it all week, so he perked right up once we were on the road. He didn't eat much, but he wasn't running fever anymore, so I was just praying he would be okay and we would have a fun day.

In Alex City he started saying "My poopy, my poopy" which is what he always says when he needs to poop. Keep in mind that he has been pee pee trained since January, but only just started pooping on the potty at the end of July. He has yet to poop anywhere but home. We knew this was not good. Basically at this point we felt like the stars were all aligned against us-first he was not feeling 100%, now he needed to poop and we are no where near home. I knew he would never go in a gas station. He is just so hard headed when it comes to the potty. I looked and John and just told him to go buy some pull ups. I can't believe we did that, but we basically had 2 choices-force him to only poop in a potty, which he would not do, so he would be whining and miserable the whole day, or we could just break down and spend $14 on pull ups that we would use 1 out of the pack, be done with it, and get on about our day. We bought the pull ups in Dadeville and then pulled off right when we turned on College Street in Auburn at a gas station and let him just stand up in the backseat with a pull up on and poop.

He seemed to perk back up after he pooped. We parked and headed toward Tiger Walk. We met up with the McClearys at Tiger Walk. At this point, Will was exhausted, whiny, and wanting to be held at all times. I thought we were just going to leave and head back home before the game even started. See we thought we were being smart in telling Will what to expect about the day, so all week we told him about Tiger Walk, the eagle flying, the players running out.....so of course in three year old land, he expected all of these things to happen simultaneously as soon as we got out of the car in Auburn. He definitely didn't understand why we had to wait on anything. Finally Tiger Walk started and like father, like son, Will loved it. He had this super intense face as each player walked by. He kept his hand out and high fived everyone. His favorite was Aubie!!

On the way to the stadium, we stopped for a photo opp in the same place that John first introduced Will to the stadium at 2 weeks old. What a difference 3.5 years makes!!

Once inside the stadium, Will loved it. He loved taking in all the sights and sounds. He was amazed by the crowd in the stadium and all that was going on.

However we were in the game at least an hour before kick off. You can only expect a 3 year old to sit in the stands for so long. He almost missed the eagle flying because he was completely melting down and just as John was about to take him out, it flew right over our head!

That excitement only lasted a minute and I ended up taking him out and we basically spent most of the first half sitting on the concrete in front of the concessions. He was tired and hot. He wouldn't eat or drink anything which I know made it worse!! He fell asleep on me for about 45 minutes or so and woke up just in time to see Auburn score right before half time. The nap definitely did him good. He started cheering and was more tolerable. We spent the 2nd half in and out of the stands. I thought I was going to scream when it went into overtime. Will was doing much better by this point but it was TIME.TO.GO.!!!

After the game, we took a few pics at the Heisman statues and headed to the car. We stopped for dinner before getting back on the road and we were SURE Will would sleep all the way home. Nope!! I seriously thought we were going to go nuts. He talked the whole time and he was so tired that he wasn't speaking in coherent sentences. On 280 at the Colonnade exit which is the one we get off at to go to our house, he fell asleep. GO FIGURE.

Despite the drama, the pictures look like we had the perfect day :) And we did have fun-but it was just a roller coaster-happy sometimes/miserable sometimes. We definitely had envisioned it differently, but I have found like most things in life with kids are that way. You build it up and create this experience in your head, and it never quite measures up. That isn't a bad thing-just different than what you pictured. Will's first game was definitely different than what we thought it would be, but we loved sharing the game day experience with our precious little boy.

Fifteen

Alex was 15 months old on September 1st. We had his 15 month check up Wednesday. Our sweet little boy is just perfect. He weighed 28 pounds 6 ounces and was 32 inches long (75th percentile for both).

Alex is a man of few words....most day no words :) He can say Mama and Dada but I can't remember the last time he did. I *think* he said uh-oh last night, but I am not positive. I dropped something and said "uh-oh" and he repeated me (at least that is what it sounded like)...we'll take it! He mostly just grunts. It cracks us up because he has various grunting sounds with all different inflections and we generally can decipher between them to figure out what he wants. So why would he talk....he doesn't have to!
He can clap now and anytime you say "Yay!" or "good boy!" he claps for himself.

Alex is doing AWESOME at school. Makes this Mama SO happy and calms my heart. He hasn't cried at drop off in about a week and a half. He has even smiled the past few mornings when I handed him off. He loves his teachers and I think he loves school. It keeps him busy and entertained. The other day I picked him up and they were sitting at the table eating snack. Alex was lounged in his chair to the point that his bottom was almost off the end of his seat and his chin was just resting on the table. They were eating cheese balls for snack and he wasn't even picking them up off the table, he was just scooting them forward directly from the table into his mouth. His teachers laughed and asked if he didn't sit at a table at home. I told them not really, he is in a high chair during meals and the only little table we have is in Will's room and it is a bit taller than the tables they have at school. They said they have to watch him closely because sometimes he just slides right out of his chair :) Sweet boy! He is learning though!!

My most favorite part about Alex right at this very moment are his kisses. He gives you a kiss anytime you ask for one and his kiss is of the open mouth variety :) He just opens his mouth and leans in to your mouth or cheek or whatever he can reach. It is absolutely precious and I cherish those kisses!!

He has obviously fallen into his role as an Auburn fan quite nicely...taking notes from big brother!

Alex is still a great eater and a great sleeper! He is so easy going and has found his perfect place in our family. I think he and Will have their own language. It is hysterical to listen to them playing together in Will's room. Will will talk to him and Alex will grunt or yell loudly. He definitely wants to be heard....even if he isn't speaking with words!

Sloppy Joes and Scroberbs

There are 134 days until Will turns 4...not that I am counting or anything. Several people have told me that 4 is glorious. I am hanging on their every word and planning on hunting them down if that indeed is not the case :) Will makes us laugh and makes us want to scream DAILY.

Three is rough, not gonna lie! I feel like just after he turned three and was pee-pee trained, things started going downhill for us....fast. I think potty training taught Will that he had some control. He has been expressing that control ever since.

He just started pooping in the potty at the end of July (6 months AFTER he was peeing in the potty). To say it was frustrating was an understatement. We continued to let him poop in pull ups to try and take some of the pressure off peeing. Well, we let that go on a little too long....and we paid for it. Around the middle of July, we told Will that we were not buying anymore pull-ups. For about 3 solid weeks it would be hours....sometimes days from the moment he said he needed to poop, until he actually did it. Those hours....sometimes days were MISERABLE. He was miserable because his tummy hurt and he was holding it and so focused on that that he wouldn't do anything else. He would just scream for hours running around holding his bottom. Y'all it was pitiful. But also incredibly ridiculous and I literally reached my breaking point....a few times :) We went to bed feeling defeated, exhausted, and not enjoying our little boy. Thankfully, he has decided that it is easy to poop and in the past week has gone as soon as he feels the need to go. PRAISE THE LORD!

I just keep waiting for the next little speed bump to rear its ugly head and have another fight on our hands about something else. I am hoping it is not just my kid that has these crazy roller coaster emotions at the ripe old age of 3. I am praying for patience!! I have to constantly remind myself that even though he is tall, can dress himself (and change his underwear up to 3 times a day now that Spider Man underwear have found a home in his drawer), can get water all by himself,  and can speak clearly, he is still only three. His heart is tender and his feelings are hurt easily.

On the flip side, Will makes us laugh out loud throughout the day and I am convinced God brings us this laughter on purpose at just the right moment so we don't hurt him :) Now that I have vented for a while, I will get to the actual point of the post and how it relates to the title.
I picked up Will from school on Thursday and his teachers told us that Will made them laugh so hard that day. They said they were in line headed to the lunchroom. They were walking when his friend Isaiah in front of him said, "Aw man. We're having Sloppy Joes today....I don't like sloppy joes." Will's teacher said that as serious as he could be, he looked at Isaiah and said, "Um is that your dad? Because I don't know him!" Cracks. Me. Up.

Then on the way home from school Friday Will asked me if I wanted to hear his bible verse. I told him that of course I did. Very proudly he began, "A friend loves at all times. Scroberbs 17:17." I started to laugh a little and asked him to say it for me again. Sure enough, he repeated it exactly as he had said it the first time. I didn't have the heart to correct him because it was too darn cute. I have been reading the bible a long time and have yet to come across Scroberbs....who knew!?

He's Back!

Aubie made his grand appearance back in our front yard yesterday afternoon. This year we invited the neighbors, had Auburn rice Krispy treats, and made it a big redneck deal :) The kids had a blast even though it was SO humid after the rain!!! Aubie has already been turned on this morning and blinds are up in Will's room so he can look at it whenever he wants. We are SO happy football season is here!!

I am SUCH a good wife....sporting a "gift" from my husband! Will was SO proud that his mama had an Auburn jersey. This is my life now....surrounded my three boys who are (and will be) die hard Auburn fans...might as well join in on the fun!

Big Boy Haircut

 Alex received his first legit hair cut last Friday. He did great. I wouldn't say he was a fan, but a sucker, paci, and iPhone kept him distracted at least for the girl to be able to do what she needed to do. We didn't get very much cut off, but it definitely made a difference!

The Big Day...

I have been dreading today since May 25th (my last work day). While I was anticipating all of the fun I would have with my boys over the summer, I was also very aware that come August, Kiki would be once again into retirement, and Alex was off to school! In case you need a reminder of Will's transition to school, you can go here, here, here, here, and here. In a nutshell, it wasn't pretty. I couldn't imagine my baby having to go through what Will did. Nor did I think I could go through that again. Today was the big day....the verdict....we survived!
I can't believe Will is starting his third year at "school." Look at how much he has changed in two years...                                                            August 2010

 August 2012

My sister in law has taken backpack pictures of the kids on their first day of school for as long as I can remember and I thought it was a fun tradition to do with my boys. So I snapped a few pics of my boys this mornings getting ready for their first day in their new classes!

Sweet boys ready to go!

 Alex has no clue what is going on...he was just excited about his back pack :)

 Are we actually going somewhere?? Or just parading around the driveway with our backpacks on..??!!

 Will was so precious and encouraging this morning....I think he helped me more than Alex...ha!

 I'm not so sure about this Mom...

 "It will be okay Alex. School is fun and if you are sad and cry I will come hug you and give you a kiss." -Will to Alex in the backseat on the way to school this morning...melt my heart!

 This backpack is bigger than me!!

When I dropped Alex off, he didn't cry! He did reach for me once after his teacher had taken him and looked a little teary, so I gave him one more big hug and off he went to the rug to play. I called to check in on him about 10 and they said he had just finished snack and was playing with his new friends. I picked both boys up about 2:45. I was SO happy to grab Alex and squeeze him....and to find him tear free. When I peeked in the window before opening the door, he was sitting at the table waiting for his snack. His paci was in his mouth going 90 to nothing and he had a tight grip on his lovey. His teacher said, "he sure does love his lovey. We couldn't get it away from him today!" :) Yes...he does. He probably clung to it because it was the only familiar part of his day!! He didn't nap...I expected that. I imagine it will take a few weeks for him to get used to the whole nap mat on a cot deal...he is used to being comfy cozy in his crib. Overall, I would say today was a million times better than Will's first day. I don't know if maybe because it was just I had prepared myself for the worst or if I just knew what to expect...Tomorrow will probably be rough. Alex will know when we enter his classroom that I am leaving. I am preparing myself for tears. I hope I am pleasantly surprised!! Here's to hoping each day is better than the last!