Trick or Treat!

It has been forever since my last blog update!  Here's the short version:  Recently we've taken the boys to Ocean Isle for the Oyster Festival, which was awesome; we've celebrated our fourth wedding anniversary and Derek's 32nd birthday; we went to Davis' first real outdoor concert, the Fresh Beat Band concert in downtown Raleigh; and we've done lots of other fun stuff that I can't remember right now.

Also, Wednesday was Halloween.  It was Davis' first time trick-or-treating, so Derek took off work so that he could be with us to carve our pumpkin and go "candy harvesting" as some of my cousins call it. We went to White Deer Park in Garner where they had an event called "Trick-or-Treat the Trails".  It was great, and Davis really enjoyed it.  Here are some pictures!

D's new favorite method of transportation

Spiderman got warmed up after about 30 minutes and was on a roll!

The baby fox enjoyed his vantage point as well.  

Cutest Spiderman ever?  I think so.

Our Jack-O-Lanterns

Day-After-Halloween hangover?

...And speaking of rotten teeth, Reece has a nice healthy white one already!

Reecey-Poop

I used Davis' nickname for Reece as the title of this post because I'm hoping that it won't stick and that one day this will be a reminder to me that Davis (and sometimes I) used to refer to him as Reecey-Poop.    In Davis' defense, he heard me calling Reece "Reecey-Poo" and thought I was saying "Reecey-Poop", so that's where it came from...

Reece had his four-month doctor's appointment last week and it was confirmed.  He's perfect and he's big.  He weighed 16 pounds, 5 ounces (75th percentile); his height was 26.5 inches (90th percentile); and his head was in the 95th percentile.  The doctor commented on how strong and alert he is, and said that everything about him looked great.  Praise the Lord!

Our sweet little boy is growing and changing so quickly.  He's able to push up on his elbows when he lies on his tummy, he chews and bites on anything he can grab, and he is an all-around smiley, happy baby...as long as mama or daddy has him.  He, like Davis, prefers a familiar face to look at, but will give each of his grandparents short stints of lap time.  He has very strong lungs and seems much louder than Davis did as a baby, whether he's happy or upset.  I guess our second child feels like he needs to be the "squeaky wheel" in order to be heard...he might be onto something.

It's Fall, Y'all

It finally feels and seems like fall around here.  The cooler temperatures have been wonderful, and it's hard to believe the fair and the pumpkin patch are just around the corner.  I guess I need to get my fall stuff out of the attic before it's already time to get out the Christmas stuff!

Last Friday, the boys and I went with my mom to the Southern Ideal Home Show at the fairgrounds.  Davis had so much fun running around the place and he got lots of free stuff, which is always a bonus.  He really loved climbing up in the Bobcat and I think he wants one for Christmas.  So does Derek.

Over the weekend, Derek and Davis planted mums and pansies.  Reece and I weeded , blew leaves, and watched the big boys work.

Nana and Ms. Jackie came by the house to see us and Ms. Jackie brought Davis a pumpkin, which he painted on Saturday night.

On Sunday Davis helped Daddy mow the front yard.  We tried to get him to "help" by riding on Derek's back in the carrier, but he wasn't having it.  He wanted to "really" help, so he used his lawn mower and was pretty happy with that arrangement.

On Monday Davis got some new pebbles in his sensory bin.  He likes using his heavy machinery to move the rocks around.  He also likes dumping the rocks on the floor.  Thank goodness for the shop vac.

Davis' independent spirit is in full force lately.  He wants to do everything "all by myself" and I often hear Derek muttering, "Little Leah" under his breath when he's trying to help Davis do something.  Independence and stubbornness will take him far in life I'm sure, but it's sometimes hard to remember that when you're trying to get out the door on time or when you know a huge mess is about to be made.  I guess it's a good reminder to all of us to see the bigger picture and to slow down and enjoy the moment.  I love this little dude's personality and he definitely keeps us on our toes!

His Cup Runneth Over

Labor Day Weekend in Pictures

The boys and I went on a little stroll on Friday afternoon.  They love our new double stroller, and so do I.

We had a nice little Labor Day weekend around here, beginning with Friday night.  Davis, Reece, G-Ma, and I went to our buddy Garrett's 2nd birthday bash at Pullen Park.  It was a great party and of course, Davis loves any reason to visit Pullen Park.  He rode the carousel (a horse this time), played on the playground, and almost rode the boats!  We love that place.  Unfortunately, there are no pictures to document this experience as I left my phone in the car.

Saturday, Nana came to pick up Davis and he spent the night with her and Papa.  He had a great time.  They played outside a lot, had spaghetti and meatballs for supper, and went to feed the ducks at Toisnot Park.

Davis fed the ducks two whole loaves of bread.

While Davis was gone on Saturday, Derek did a couple projects around the house; I went running solo for the first time in a long time; Reece and I worked on back carries; and Derek cooked us a delicious dinner on the grill.  It was a nice, relaxing night except for some fussiness on Reece's part that was all my fault.  I ate something with dairy in it, and Reece did not approve.  (You would think that eliminating dairy from my diet would be pretty simple...turns out, after 30 years of being able to eat whatever I want, it's quite an adjustment and sometimes I just plain forget!  I'm getting better though...)

BBQ chicken, grilled zucchini, and baked potato...yum!

We did it!  Reece was asleep in about 10 minutes.

On Sunday, we went out to Derek's parents' house to hang out and retrieve Davis.  Homeboy was t-i-r-e-d and slept from the time we hit Elm City (approximately 7:00pm) until 6:00am on Sunday.  He must've had lots and lots and lots of fun!

Grandaddy came on Monday morning and took the babies and me to the park where we played and had a picnic lunch.  I don't know who got more exercise, Davis or Grandaddy.  They did lots of races up and down the hills; it looked like a military training exercise to me!  We had a great morning out, and we can't wait to do it again soon.

They conquered the dragon!

Now it's Tuesday, and after all that weekend fun, we need to start thinking about what to do for the rest of the week!  I'm sure it won't be boring...

Keepin' it Real

It occurred to me last night that my blog mostly (okay, only) features the positive aspects of parenting and life in general.  I tend to be a glass-half-full type of person, so this kind of makes sense.  However, today I thought I would dedicate a post to the not-so-awesome experiences that are part of my days and that make me stronger and wiser.

There are those few days when most everything seems to go right and I go to bed feeling like, "Man, I nailed it today."  But more often than not, at least a few things go wrong.  There are those types of days where my toddler is screaming at me because I gave him the wrong snack (which happens to be the one he specifically asked for) or put the TV on the wrong show (which also happens to be the one he specifically asked for).  These moments are especially difficult when it's not even 7:00am and my eyes haven't even opened all the way.

There are those days when my infant and his internal colic-clock know that it is exactly 6:00pm and therefore time to start screaming.  This is usually the same time of day when I'm trying to feed the big boy, or give him a bath, or do something productive.  When will I learn?

One day my two-year-old, who happened to be diaperless due to a diaper rash that needed to air out, decided to poop not once, but twice on the floor.  I take that back, the first time was on top of his changing table, where I found him standing up and trying to reach something on top of his dresser.  The second time, he had stepped in it and tracked it all over the playroom and given me two extra loads of laundry to do, in addition to washing all the affected toys and affected child immediately, all the while gagging and remembering why I never want another puppy.  (Remember, there's a baby somewhere in the house that still needs tending to while all of this is going on.)

And speaking of babies, one day I might have left him in the swing-like contraption long enough to run to the bathroom and heard frantic screaming before I could even get down the hall.  When this happened, the only information I could get from Davis is that Reece was somehow hit in the head with a Lego.  Hmmm...Oh, and because of this little incident I might have raised my voice at the perpetrator and felt very guilty for the rest of the night.  All I could do was apologize and try to learn from the experience.

In an effort to do something fun as a family one morning before Derek went to work, I decided we would go to White Deer Park to see some rescued owls being released back into the wild.  They were to also have other animals to see, and I thought Davis would love it.  Well wouldn't you know, this was the one morning Reece decided to take a very long nap, which put us leaving a few minutes later than we wanted to be.  Well, we arrived right on time, except there was no parking left, so we had to park across the street and walk.  As we approached the festivities from a distance, the last owl was being released.  We did get to see it briefly because it hung out on a nearby tree branch for a little while.  The other animals must have been no-shows because we never saw them.  Oh, and I stepped in a fire ant hill with flip flops on and spend a good bit of time slapping ants off of my feet and ankles, and the rest of our time at the park taking deep breaths and resisting the urge to put my foot in the drinking fountain.

So as you can see, it's not all rainbows and butterflies around here.  Mostly, but not all.  I love my children more than words can say, and I wouldn't trade even these moments for anything in the world.

Did I mention that all of these things have happened in the past three days?

Little Things

My mom and I were talking the other day about how there's some study (some journal, some year) that showed that the happiest people are those who appreciate and enjoy the "little things" in life.  Maybe that's why I'm so happy!

I really do take pleasure in the simplest of things, and here are a few:

• That first cup of coffee in the morning...aaaahhhh...especially if I can enjoy it in silence, all by myself.  It gives me a few minutes to collect my thoughts and prepare for the wonderful chaos that will begin as soon as my little ones wake. 
• Food.  I can't help it.  I love to eat.  I will save you from reading a bulleted list of individual foods and just leave it at that.
• Watching a movie that I know by heart and loving it more and more each time I see it.  Steel Magnolias anyone?
• Sitting on the back porch listening to the rain.
• The sound of the ocean.
• Sunday afternoon in the back yard with my family.
• A really good book that you keep thinking about all day, and you look forward to picking it up again to see what happens next.
• The way Reece smiles as he's falling asleep.
• The way Davis says, "I wub you, Mommy."  Really?  I get to be the one he calls "Mommy"?  I can keep him?!

Another great pleasure in my life is watching my children enjoy simple things.  I love to replay these sweet moments in my mind and wish I could capture them all on camera.  Here are a few recent "little things" involving my sweet boys:

• Davis and Derek sitting on the ground in the back yard after dark, using the flood light to see, and digging holes in the dirt, just for the sake of digging holes in the dirt.
• Reece's face lighting up and a few giggles escaping as he looks at the two of us in the mirror.
• Davis insisting on walking from the car into Target in the rain and stomping his feet through each and every puddle on the way.  I'm not sure if I heard more laughing from him or from the other shoppers.
• Davis literally clapping after taking a bite of a truly delicious piece of food.  Wonder where he gets that from...
• Reece's loud squeals of delight as Derek lifts him up in the air to "fly".  I'm usually on drool patrol for this stunt. 

I'm glad that we try appreciate the joy in the little things.  Because I have a sneaking suspicion that one day we will look back on them and consider them the big things. 

Cloth

We have slowly transitioned Reece into wearing mostly cloth diapers!  I have gone back and forth on my feelings about using cloth ever since before Davis was born.  I thought I'd do it, then I decided I wouldn't; I felt guilty about not saving the money and keeping the diapers out of landfills, but then I thought about how much work cloth would be; etc., etc., etc.,...

Fast forward to a few weeks ago when a friend of mine was "destashing" (getting rid of a bunch of her cloth diapers) because her son was almost completely potty trained.  She gave me a great deal on just about everything I needed to get started, and boom!  We were cloth diapering.  It seemed kind of overwhelming (and gross) to me at first, but now I'm so glad we're doing it.  I feel good about the fact that I'm saving us a little cash--cloth diapers have great resale value, so this factor really adds to the cost-savings--and that I'm doing something positive for the environment.  And added bonus:  cloth diapers are really cute!  and chemical free!  and cute!

"Does this diaper make my thighs look chunky?"

Cheap Entertainment

Here's Davis.  With popcorn.  At 8:00 in the morning.  Waiting for the garbage man.

Davis-isms

I walked into my bedroom the other day while Davis was watching TV and he says to me, "Mommy, my sad."  I asked him, "Why are you sad, Davis?"  (Insert at least two dramatic sighs and pouty lip faces.)  He answered, "No 'Mike the Knight'."  Apparently the wrong television show can really mess up your day.

This morning D told me, "My sick.  Need messicine."  I asked, "What hurts, Davis?"  After a long pause, he said, "Me.  My hurt."

Another cute thing...A few days ago, I was wearing Reece around the backyard while D was playing.  I decided to get out the leaf blower and clean off the patio.  Davis asked, "Mommy, what this thing do?"  I explained the concept behind a leaf blower.  After trying to get it started a few times and not succeeding, I gave up and put it back in the shed.  When I came back out, Davis said, "Not workin'.  Daddy fix it."  Well if that didn't motivate me to go back in there and make the dang thing work!

Davis' language is developing so well!  He has some articulation issues, but they are adorable so I'm in no hurry for him to speak perfect English.  Davis-ese is working just fine at the moment.  As for Reece and his development, in the words of big brother Davis, "Baby Reece tute."  "Baby Reece crynin'."  "Baby Reece need paci."  "Baby Reece pit up."  "Baby Reece happy."  "Baby Reece talkin'."  "My kiss 'em?"  "My hold 'em?"

Down on G-Ma's Farm

We took a trip out to my mom's house on Sunday.  It was a beautiful day and we got some good old fresh country air.  

Davis had fun chasing butterflies and helping G-Ma cook lunch.  

Reece enjoyed riding around strapped to his mama and blowing spit bubbles.  

Derek and I were reminded that we would eventually like to live in a place with more land.  I want my kids to be able to wander and explore and play outside all day.  Derek wants to live in isolation with no neighbors so he can be a real hermit.  To quote Phil from Duck Dynasty, "You need to be able to take a leak in your yard without someone saying, 'Hey, what's he doing?'"  As long as I'm not too far from a Target, I'll be "happy happy"!

This Old House

Davis is dangerous with a spoon.

The butterflies love G-Ma's zinnias.

I need to broaden my photography interests...but with so many pretty flowers and butterflies and babies around, it's hard to find the motivation.

"I just felt like running..."

This hat was intended to keep John Reece out of the sun, not make a fashion statement.

"...So I just kept on running."

Moving on to the next garden

Ha!  Tricked 'em both into falling asleep!

Birthday Party

Perhaps the coolest thing in the whole world is seeing my children learn and grow.  My latest favorite part of Davis' development is his imaginative play.  The other afternoon, he invited me to sit down and join his "birthday party".  He had several toys placed on the floor and was making sure each one had a "cupcake".  He had all of his "friends" blow out the candles on their cupcakes and he had me sing "Happy Birthday" to each one.  Talk about precious!  I suggested we give each participant a present, and Davis went and found a gift for everyone and pretended that the party guests were opening them.  I'm going to post a picture of this sweet event because I want to remember it.  I'm going to open myself up for judgement as well, since my floor clearly has dog hair on it (It has since been vacuumed.) and my child clearly has food all over his face.  Oh well...

The scene...Isn't it clear as mud that this is a birthday party?

Reece enjoyed his view from the Mamaroo.

This kid loves to sing "Happy Birthday".

Mr. Penguin and his cupcake.  Looks like he already had a few too many.

2 > 1

When Derek and I decided to have another baby, we knew it would be challenging in the beginning (and in the middle, and in the end).  Having one child isn't easy, and having two children even less so, especially when they arrive less than two years apart.  But, we knew we wanted Davis to have a sibling and specifically one close in age to grow up and hopefully be great friends with.

John Reece has been such a precious addition to our family, and now I barely remember what it was like only having one child.  A few days ago he started to really make eye contact and is now smiling and cooing all the time.  Something has surely clicked recently and I feel like our family is getting into a groove and really feels complete.

I took Reece to his two-month checkup this morning, and the doctor said he looks wonderful.  He weighs over thirteen pounds (90th percentile); his length is in the 75th percentile, and his head size is in the 95th percentile.  He's doing great, sleeping well, and bringing lots of joy to our little family.

What a great smile!

Davis is a sweeter big brother than I could have ever imagined.
But of course, Reece can't play with his toys yet...

My boys...

are not in these pictures, but they sure are pretty anyway!  I snapped a couple photos of the flowers in our yard this afternoon as there aren't many left.  Apparently 105 degrees is too much for some plants...

Rain, Rain

It's only Wednesday but it feels like we've done a lot this week already...Who am I kidding?  I've usually done a lot before 7am!

Monday we did our usual catch-up day, where I use up all of Garner's water doing laundry, running the dishwasher, etc. but we did manage to sneak in a little painting time in the afternoon.

Yesterday and today we have had some nice rain in our area.  It has been quite a welcome relief from the high temperatures we've had lately.  This week is supposed to be pretty cold, with the highs only in the 80s, as opposed to the 100s like last week.

Yesterday we went to see our friends Christy and Cooper.  We finally broke in our new double stroller and went on a nice long walk around their neighborhood, with Davis and Cooper riding and Reece strapped to me.  After we came home and ate dinner, Davis played in his pool for a while and then we played some naked t-ball.  Only Davis was naked.

Davis played in his new rice bin this morning and really enjoyed himself.  Even I like running my hands through it.  I hope to make several more of these "sensory bins" soon using uncooked pasta, beans, and who knows what else.  It's a cheap and easy way to keep a busy toddler entertained, and you can teach tons of early math and language concepts which I won't bore you with.

Reece had a nice little snooze on the back porch listening to the rain this morning.  I have to admit, I was pretty jealous.  I can't imagine a better place to take a nap!