Bobbles

Has it really been almost a week since my last post? It has really flown by rather quickly. Today we attended Zach's 3rd birthday party at the Peachtree Dekalb airport. Watson played and played on the playground next to the airstrip and enjoyed watching the planes take off and land. He even got to see a helicopter take off.

Anyone who knows Watson, knows how much he LOVES his pacifiers. "Bobbles" he calls them - a fancy term coined by his cousin Jaxon. Last night, he was getting into bed and cried out, "My bobble," and then a few seconds later he added, "sssss". I suppose he does understand plural nouns since he goes to sleep every night with one in his mouth and two in each hand. I kissed him and told him goodnight and that I loved him. His response was, "I love me, Mommy." He also knows how to use his pronouns correctly. I think my child is a genius....

Sophia has learned to laugh. Wes tickled her today and she just cackled. Other times, she talked and talked with the pitch of a cat. She grabbed at her pacifier today. You could tell she was focused on it and tried so hard to reach for it. It will be convenient for us when she can put it back in her mouth herself! I wonder if she will love her bobbles as much as her brother?

Watson is rather opinionated. Yesterday, he refused to put his pants back on after a diaper change so he was running around the house in his t-shirt and diaper. He went into the garage and asked to ride his tractor and I told him that he could play outside, but that he had to put his clothes on first. He said no, so I told him come back into the house from the garage. He then told me, "No thanks, Mommy. I want to play here." Hmmm....do I rejoice in the fact that at least he exhibits good manners as he defies me?

Eggs, Chicken Wings and Tractors

Our THURSDAY began at 4am when I heard the the pitter patter of little feet rushing to our bedroom. Poor Watson was having trouble breathing because of his asthma. We tried our best to get a breathing treatment in him (do you know how hard it is to convince a two-year-old to stick a tube in his mouth and breathe for 20 minutes in the middle of the night?) and we eventually all went back to sleep. Watson missed preschool and spent the day on the couch. If he got up, he would take no more than 10 steps then lie down on the floor. Pitiful. I was so hoping he would feel better by the weekend for all of the Easter festivities.

FRIDAY - I got my wish! Watson felt better and I went to work. We grilled steaks for dinner and spent a quiet evening at home. Watson surprised us with his rendition of"Row, Row, Row Your Boat". I have heard him attempt "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star" but only when you sing it with him. Mickey Mouse sings "Row, Row, Row Your Boat" so I suppose that it takes Mickey Mouse to encourage him to sing new songs. Oh well- whatever works! All was well until 1:30am when Sophia woke us up screaming, which she never does. She has been sleeping through the night for two months now and has not one time awakened us in the middle of the night. I suppose our luck ran out. I finally got her back to sleep after a couple of hours and then she woke again at 4.

SATURDAY - We drug ourselves out of bed, loaded up on coffee and made it to church in time for the Easter egg hunt at 9. Watson had so much fun hunting eggs again (the first time was last weekend at our neighborhood hunt). At first, he was more interested in playing on the playground than looking for eggs. When he did find an egg, he would shake it and if it didn't rattle with candy inside, he would throw it back down on the ground. Picky, picky. My brother Eric and niece Elise joined us. After the hunt, we headed to the grocery and lo and behold, there was a fire truck parked in the parking lot. Watson was so excited! We put him on the front bumper of the fire truck to take his picture and the firemen walked out of Publix back to the truck. They let Watson in the front seat and let him turn on the siren. I don't think he will forget that experience. He is fascinated with fire trucks. He told me the other day that he wanted a fire truck to come to our house. I stood there thinking how much I didn't want a fire truck to come to my house....EVER! Sophia and I took a nice little nap when we returned home. That evening we went to his parents (a.k.a. Nana and Dub) for a Wing Ding and another Egg Hunt. Cousin Scott and son Keith sure know how to cook some chicken wings! The kids played and played and especially enjoyed the dirt pile (top soil for the lawn that had not been spread yet). Watson was filthy and I just kept wondering how I was going to get his brand new outfit clean. We all fell into bed that night exhausted.

SUNDAY - Happy Easter!!!!! Watson had a fun time digging into his Easter basket. I think his favorite item was his finger paint for the bathtub. He unscrewed the red bottle and crawled under the table to try it out on the hardwood floor, the cabinets and his pajamas. Thank goodness this happened on Wes' watch because I can only imagine how fun that was to clean up. Our service at church was incredible - the music and message very touching. The sermon was about humbling ourselves to serve others as Jesus did when he was on earth. I needed to hear it because I can always use a nice piece of humble pie (a term borrowed from a friend!). After church, we had lunch at home - shrimp and pasta. What traditional Easter food we had this weekend - chicken wings and seafood!!! Mom (a.k.a. GiGi) came to visit a little later and Watson just had to ride his tractor...up the street away from me. I had to catch up with him pick him up and drag him home to Wes who had to go rescue the tractor parked up the street in a neighbor's yard. How exciting for me to carry my son home like a football with him kicking and screaming, "My tractor, my tractor!"

All is quiet now. Our precious babies are sleeping and I am enjoying a few minutes to myself. It has been a busy few days but I wouldn't have wanted to be anywhere else. Well, a couple of times, I really wanted to be in my bed under the covers catching a few more winks. But all in all, we had a fabulous Easter weekend with family. How blessed we are!!

My Life is a Zoo

I have finally decided to enter the cyber world and start my own blog. I always felt strange about putting my ideas "out there" for others to see. The inspiration for my change of heart comes from my children, who amaze me so very much everyday that I just have to share my joy. That, and the fact that I just learned to text message in the last few weeks and this just seems like the next step. I know that I sound extremely old. Just like my grandmother did when she told me that DVD players and cordless phones were a bunch of bull. Now that I am a mother, I can definitely appreciate the simplicity of living without all of these technological advances. How much more time could I spend nurturing my kids if I were not surfing the internet?

My two-year-old son, Watson, says the craziest things and I hope to record those crazy things for our families to enjoy. I get so very busy that I forget to tell these stories so my plan is to share them here. I'll begin with last Sunday. We were on our way to church and I asked him if he wanted to sing a song. I thought "Jesus Loves Me" was an appropriate Sunday morning song so I sang it through. When I was finished, I asked him if he wanted to sing it with me again. His response was, "No Mommy. Bye-bye Jesus." A few weeks ago, I picked him up from preschool and he was hiding under the table. I called out," Where's Watson?" and he jumped out from under the table and exclaimed, "I find me!" Too cute. Well, maybe you do not think that is so very cute, but I wanted to cry from the cuteness. A couple of days ago, he was "helping" me in the bathroom (he likes to do the flushing) and he asked where my penis was. I am so not ready for penis questions yet! This morning he told Sophia, my three-month-old daughter, that he loved her without being prompted. He just said it. Just like that. "Love you Fia."

Today, we spent the day at the zoo with our friends Clint, Kathryn and their three-year-old Anna Kate. The kids, and the grown ups, had such a fun time. After we returned home, I asked Watson what his favorite part of the zoo was. He told me, "The monkeys, they stink" as he sniffed and snorted. I laughed and was secretely grateful that he did not puke from all of the smells. He has a weak stomach when it comes to foul smells. (Ask Aunt Dianne - aka MiMi - about her turnip greens.) I was surprised that he said the monkeys because he seemed to enjoy the carousel, playground and train ride more than anything. What a glorious day that we were able to enjoy as a family. We are truly blessed.