Another year coming to a close. An amazing December made up for a sickly and ridiculous November. Woohoo! Here’s what’s happening with the boys, a monthly recap, a random rambling about things I’m thankful for in 2016, and a preview to 2017. Buckle up for a lot of words. For I have a lot of words. Good words. From my very good brain. Fun! (Look at how presidential this blog is sounding! Oh buddy……hooray for 2017?)
Speaking of good words, Fred is starting to talk! I try not to compare children, but this is way earlier than Ben. So it caught me off guard when I realized that the babbles were words! So far, he has:
Mama/Dada
Go go go! (gah gah gah!)
Banana (nana)
up
ball
Brob-Brob (Ben/Brother)
and a few other things where he can repeat the cadence of our phrases. He also uses sign language for “drink”, “more”, and “please” on a regular basis. It’s hilarious to watch him communicate more and more. Look at this stud:
Ben continues to be pretty introverted unless he is really comfortable with the people around him. Then all of the sudden, he can say the funniest things or bust out the best dance moves. But if you call attention to it, he’s done. One day, instead of saying that he heard something, he told me, “My ears are collecting noises!” The kid cracks me up.
The boys actually have the ability to play together now and it is rocking my world. Sometimes, however, they have their conflicts. Ben learned a while ago that he will get in trouble if he pushes Fred, so he started kissing him whenever he invaded his space. One day, I walked in to see a crying Fred.
“Ben, did you push your brother?”
“No….”
“Oh, so why is he crying?”
“Because I kissed him so hard!”
The first snow was perfect snowman snow. It was awesome. And then I decided it was time to go to Florida.
We had a FABULOUS trip to Florida to kick off December. I flew in with the boys on Sunday and Jesse joined us on Thursday. We all flew back together on Tuesday. We loved time with Holly, Kyle, and the cousins. There was a lot of down time with new toys and sunshine, a day at Sea World, and some fun local activities. It was hard to come home.
Remember when this blog was full of home improvement projects?? We have once again picked up momentum on some projects. Our “Door to Nowhere” was replaced with a window and I gave our guest room a makeover. We replaced the giant queen bed with a twin trundle and we have more space! I’m thrilled with the results. I even got Pinterest-y and put Fred’s footprints and Ben’s hand print on the wall. I was pretty pumped about being crafty for a few minutes.
We also learned that the bathroom remodel from 5 years ago involved nails being shoved into our water lines. OOPS. And we learned that nails can plug a hole for five years before allowing water to drip into the basement. Science!
The rest of December was filled with play dates, Christmas cheer, realizing Fred is big enough for play places, a zoo attendance challenge for the winter months, and celebrating with family. The boys got additions to their Trackmaster system for Christmas. We have been playing with it nonstop for a week. Choo CHOO!
And now to the mushy, reflective, end of the year part of the blog. Ha!
In No Particular Order…..Things I am Thankful For:
Self-Imposed Deadlines.
I didn’t make a resolution for last year, but I did manage to do a blog for every month of 2016. Sometimes I didn’t feel like writing, but I’m glad I have those memories stored somewhere – because I really struggle to remember these blurry times. So WIN.
Flexibility.
I’m working on not being too hard on myself. That’s why I’m not caring (too much) that this entry is already 8 days late of my self-imposed deadline.
Ben.
Oh my Ben. I’ve never met anyone like him. He loves people but is totally fine being on his own. He appears like he’s totally tuned out, but then you can catch his lips slowly creep into a smile when he overhears something funny. He tells super weird and abstract jokes, and I rejoice and fear that he’s just mimicking his parents’ sense of humor.
“How do you make a pancake laugh? Tell it an elephant joke! HA. HA!”
He loves puzzles, mazes, look & find books. He loves his family deeply. He does not like changing activities or getting out of his pajamas. He gets concerned when characters on shows are sad or worried. He loves Lightning McQueen & Thomas the Train. He rarely sings, but then he suddenly writes his own song with the chorus: “You Don’t Need a Seat Belt for a Donkey!” He is ridiculously innocent and sweet. He waits to go to the bathroom until the very last second possible. You can get him to do almost anything if it’s a “race”. He is an excellent buddy and brother – most of the time.
Fred.
Oh my Fred. My social butterfly. He has the best flirty smile and uses it all the time. He skipped over baby toys in a quest to keep up with his brother. He has the best happy face and the saddest sad face. He is adventurous and brave and goes with the flow. He’s entering the crazy hard toddler part of not being able to communicate as much as he wants to. He loves bubble baths. He hates getting his diaper changed. He loves balls and anything with wheels. He dances by stomping his feet and pumping his hands in the air. He is an excellent buddy and brother – most of the time.
Husband.
YOU GUYS. HE’S THE BEST. (The guy does not love PDA via the Internet. But I could write a novel. Just trust me…the best person for me on the planet.)
The Fam.
Seeing my favorite people be the best grandparents, aunt, uncles, and cousins, to my boys is one of the biggest joys in my life.
Politics.
Okay, I just threw up a little in my mouth, but hear me out. Once upon a time, I was an excited social studies student. I thought it would be cool to be a speech writer. I loved teaching fifth graders about the branches of government. 2016 kind of ruined my fascination with the whole political process. But I feel fortunate that I have enough of a diverse social circle that I am challenged in the way that I think on most issues. So I know that there are people on each side that are good and wonderful and smart and caring people that love their families and love their friends and want to create a better future. Each side has good people, and I refuse to let the noise of the world convince me otherwise. I choose to be optimistic.
Hormones.
Having babies is hard on a body, and I feel like I’m just finally recovering. I’ve been fortunate that I bonded well with my infants and had good recoveries after birthing those boys. But it turns out that when I stop nursing, everything goes to crap and I go on a roller coaster of a special kind of crazy. So the second half of 2016 was a challenge to feel normal and I still have some flare ups of hormonal explosions. But I’m staying positive and thankful that things are getting back under control for an enjoyable 2017. Whew!
Moms.
Not only did I luck out with the most excellent moms, I have been blessed with a sister and friends that are amazing moms. Watching the women around me in my life be strong and smart and awesome is a ridiculous joy.
Obviously, there are many more things I am thankful for and hopeful for and praying for, but I’m going to try to wrap this thing up. If you are still reading, I’m thankful for YOU too. Thanks for being part of my life and caring enough to check in on the blog.
In No Particular Order…..Goals/Things I’m looking forward to in 2017:
Continuing supporting my Jesse in his job so that I can keep doing my dream job.
Seeing the growth and development of the boys, especially when the “terrific twos” and kindergarten are in our future!
Sweet summer vacations, including watching my sister get hitched. Bonus brother time!
Monday nights in Bachelor Nation with some fabulous friends (don’t judge us).
Church and trying to read things that get my brain geared toward faith.
Keeping my blog and pictures organized and updated. I CAN DO IT.
Win at The Feast of Odin. Bring it, Brother.
Play dates, catching up with old friends, keeping up with new friends.
Okay, obviously there is more than that. But there are some trains to play with in this house, and I need to get to it. And I’m getting hungry. So I’m going to post this. Happy New Year to you!!