Mommy Daughter Date - Brave

Against the recommendation of the internet, and on the recommendation of Ms. Sarah, I took Ellie to see Brave tonight. I knew there would be some scary scenes, but the fact that it's set in Scotland outweighed this for me. I also wanted Ellie to see a princess that didn't look like Cinderella and Belle.

Ellie was so excited to see the movie. After watching a few scary previews, I knew we were going to do a lot of cuddling. The movie had several moments that made Ellie really laugh - much of that was the physical humor. She didn't necessarily get the whole underlying mother daughter theme, but we did get to talk about what making amends means. That was a good discussion. I think we may need to watch this movie together again when Ellie's 13 and 14 and 15 and 16 and so forth....

She enjoyed the treats I brought her and was covered in chocolate when we left the theater. There was chocolate on her nose somehow! We enjoy an extra final treat on the bench and then spotted Colleen. We stopped into her store for a little visit (and a clean up in the rest room). We forgot her mouth though!

The little princess enjoyed the whole evening. And so did her Mommy! She is so well behaved and she listens so well to me at times like this. I was proud to have her with me!

Max's birthday gifts

Ellie is such the oldest child. She likes to make her mark and show she's in charge of her little brother. I know her tricks before she even knows them I think. She is having a hard time with Max getting a bunch of new toys that are special to him. Max has a hard time seeing Ellie use his new toys when he wants them. I want them to share with each other, but I also want Max to have the feeling of having his own things now and again. This isn't something he has much experience in during his short little lifetime.

Tonight Ellie went from new gift to new gift trying to prove she too could get a turn. Each time she picked up one of Max's favorite 3 (his new bike, his Tonka truck, and his tool belf), Max decided he needed them.

As a parent, I'm not even sure what the right answer was. I think David decided to just take them outside to play. It was probably a smart move. Unfortunately, I had to have a nap becuase this work week has just been too much for me.

Big Girl Bike

Ellie's really struggling with her big girl bike. I guess when we bought it, we bought the wrong size. Now, she still prefers the little trike, to her big girl bike. I'm determined to help her overcome this.

Tonight I took her for a short ride at the top of the hill on the sidewalk. After convincing her to stop worrying about what I'm doing and trust that I will have her if needed, she was able to get into the grove. She was even feeling good about her abilities! It's a shame we didn't have more time. We'll have to go back and do it again soon. When I told her we needed to go home to check on Daddy and Max she was disappointed. She told me she wanted to practice going fast again! She was feeling good about her ride for the first time I think! I'm so proud of her!

Stolen Moments

I cherish those little extra moments of peace and time with the kids so much. We, the three of us, just don't get enough down time together. I wish I knew how to remedy this, but I don't. Instead, I try to cherish when I can slide in 15 minutes of play in the morning, or an extra book or snuggle. This morning, I was able to squeeze in a little reading in bed time with the kids before going to see the doctors. It was so nice. While I was readying Snow White (Ellie snuggled up next to me on my left and Max rolling around on my right), Ellie says to me, "I feel like I'm in a dream Mommy."

At that moment, I tried to stop and just take it in, even if just for a second.

These things make me wonder have we chosen to raise the kids with the right priorities. Should I really be working? I sure hope so. Who knows, as the life we choose is the one we lead. I hope that my children understand and appreciate the choices I've had to make. I hope they realize that I do love them so much and tried to make the best choices. Choices is the key word, because I know they are, even though it doesn't feel like it much on the day to day.

Little man growing

This evening after getting a bath and hearing that he could collect Spots (his blankie bear) and take him down the stairs, I watched my little man walk with purpose and complete independence down the stairs. He came out of his room, walked to the stairs dressed in his little blue t-shirt and blank jammies, took hold of the railing with his left hand and with blankie in his right, he started down the stairs, taking one step at a time. I watched his beautiful little blond boy head disappear slowly as he took each step down.

As I watched him from the ground, I realized that, if I am lucky, I will watch that little boy continue to grow, get taller, and take the stairs more confidently. I can't believe he's two already and I just can't imagine how fast time will keep flying.

Max is so fun to watch. He fascinates me!

Max turns two!

This morning at 8am my little boy turned two years old. It is hard to believe it's been two years. They flew by. I hate to think that he will be graduating high school before I know it.

Max is such a joy. He makes me laugh every single day. Max loves to make people laugh. It's a gift. His little personality has surely started to shine over the past few months. He's a boy who loves rocks, climbing, diggers and any kind of ball. He's especially interested in basketball these days. He loves his family and really looks up to his big sister. He's really into learning words these days and will try to say almost anything you ask him to say. He has a hard time sitting still and has a bit of a temper. But when while he's quick to upset, he's also quick to calm if Mommy hugs him and sings Ba Ba Black Sheep to him. Then the drama ends quickly. He's a smart cookie and I look forward to watching him grow into a helpful and loving little boy!

Today was taken up quite a lot by Ellie's recital, but we managed to also string out the presents throughout the day and have an evening of Max fun for him. This morning he spent most of the time enjoying his new drum set Grampa sent for his birthday. It was so cute, when he saw it he knew exactly what to do. He ran over to it right away and started playing! He's pretty good at those drums. We also gave him some hand held small little diggers which were very exciting. These were the right size for him to bring with him today to the show.

They were both troopers after the show. We had lunch at Panera and drove 45 minutes home to get naps in started at 3pm. He was tired, but held his own nicely. After nap we had a pizza dinner, because that seems to be the only food Max actively likes that doesn't have sugar in it. We celebrated with a Nestle Cafe Cookie Cake, because I think those cookies are his favorite treat on earth. Below are a few pictures of the mess that was Max after that piece of cookie cake that held a green balloon!

After dinner we finished presents, what he hadn't gotten too already. He opened his dress up outfits from Grannie. He will be able to play with his sister now as a train conductor to her princess train, a construction worker building her castles in the cloud, and a fireman to rescue her from all the evil witches! Such great fun ahead!

Mommy and daddy got him several things to do with Diggers - a cool puzzle with big pieces, a little puzzels with individual diggers, a Good Night Construction Site book, and a Max sized real basketball! Ellie got him a pretty cool cloth Frisbee that we will all have lots of fun with! I think Max really had a nice day. Happy Birthday my little man!

The first dance recital

We did a lot of prep work between the rehearsal and the recital. Ellie taught Mommy, Daddy and even Gramma the dance. We talked about it being easier the second time to be on stage. We tried to prepare her. However, the real recital was much a repeat performance from the rehearsal. Ellie made it onto the stage, but  she wasn't able to move her feet or arms except to rub her eyes repeatedly. Poor little thing. We will help her get the confidence she needs, because she's good at her dance.

It was a long show and Max stayed with us watching 80% of it. He was quite entertaining and dancing in his seat. I think he wanted to be on stage with almost all the girls! Gramma was with us for the experience too and bought Ellie her first performance rose. Here are a few pictures from the morning.

Dance recital rehearsal

Wednesday evening we had our first chance for Ellie to see what it was like on a big stage. That is intimidating for adults, but even more so for my Ellie at four.

When we were waiting in the dressing room, Ellie told me that she was a little bit nervous. I told her she'd be fine. I tried to encourage her to have fun with the other girls. She sat quietly and colored with one of the other girls.

I thought everything was fine until when they were called to go onstage. Ellie instanly lost it and broke out in cries. Miss Megan tried to help and kept her from a full breakdown, but she was really skeptical.

She did make it on stage, but wasn't really able to do anything but rub her eyes in her attempt to keep the tears from coming! Poor little thing. My heard went out to her and I was also a little mad she couldn't do the right thing. I know I need to support her and I tried to tell her how brave she was.

We are hoping for the best on Saturday and trying to help her understand it doesn't have to feel the same way. She seems skeptical. We will see how it goes.

Prayers

After 2 years of nighttime prayers, Max has started contributing his own prayers! It's so exciting to me to see these things come through after repetition. He's getting it!

Last night he offered up his first prayers for Amy and Erika!

Tonight he also did the same and focused very hard to repeat the name of each person I prayed for on his behalf!

YEAH MAX!

Little Miss Independence

I watched Ellie come down the stairs after nap today in a very grown up outfit, looking very mature. I could image her 10 years from now rather easily. I know how fast time flies. Sometimes in this house it feels even a bit more real knowing I watched the boys do the same and they are already graduating college.

Ellie is such a beautiful and intelligent little girl. It is so fun watching her grow and learn to do things herself. With each step she needs a little less from me physically, but a lot more emotionally and maturity. The challenges change shape as a parent, but they do not end.

Tonight when she came in from the yard, for the second night in a row, she got herself a shower all alone. She washed even her hair all by herself. I'm so proud of her!

Ellie and Mr. Larry

Ellie really enjoys seeing Mr. Larry each evening. They have a cute relationship. Today he informed me that he would set up the sprinkler for Ellie tonight if they came out to play in the water again. This was thrilling to Ellie; so thrilling she could barely wait to get outside after dinner. As Larry was dragging the hose across the yard to set it up, Ellie was jumping for joy. She could hardly wait, full of energy and anticipation of the cold sprinkler! It was too cute!

She had a blast and ran around in it for about 30 minutes on and off. She's asked to do it again sometime.

Sweet as honey

We played outside again tonight and the mosquitoes ate my boy alive. Poor little thing had double bites on his back and the whole side of his face by his ear was red and bitten. I'm not even sure how many. This, with many sprays of a supposed very good bug repellent sprayed on him.

After his bath I was spraying Antihistamine spray on them and asking him to hold still while I did it. He was the perfect little angle. Not only did he hold still, but when I was done, he thanked me with his sweet little voice. He's very grateful and so very sweet. I've decided he enchants me!

Toe nails

After dinner Ellie decided to decorate her nails - all of them - while we sat around the bathroom waiting to see if Max would in deed use the potty. Meanwhile, Max decided the nail polish looked more interesting then peeing in the potty. I tried to explain that boys don't get nail polish, but I quickly realized it was futile to a little boy who's big sister was so very happy to be painting herself a variety of colors (Purple, Blue and Yellow). So, I just went ahead and gave his toes a little swag of color as well. He was happy.

This nail polish is fantastic, because it washes off at the first touch of water. So it was short live. It just seemed easier then trying to explain inequities between the genders at such an early age. Seemed to work out for us!

Summertime Fun

This evening I ended up getting the water table out for the kids for the first time in a while. They had a good hour of fun with it. There was a lot of throwing water and watering the garden, but it was great fun and concentration for them both for a while.

It started to go down hill when Max decided he should throw water on Ellie. I thought of yelling at Max, but instead, I suggested to Ellie she have fun with it and throw some back on him. This turned out to be 5 minutes of great fun. It had to end though when Ellie was getting him so good he had run away from the water table to hide on the swing. He didn't mind though. Max has such a good outlook on life. He doesn't get upset; instead, Max just laughs!

After the water table fun was over, Max didn't like the way he felt in his clothes, so we stripped him down to the diaper and he proceeded to play, happy as can be. He's off to the circle for a walk.

 

A visit

This morning we visited Fair Haven to see the relatives. We were excited to see Joan in town. Ellie really enjoys visiting with Joan. I wish they got to spend more time together. Today they colored together. It was a short visit, but I'm glad we got to see her!

Potty Time

Last night Max insisted he should sit on the little potty I pulled out from under the sink. He's shown minor interest in it over the past week. Well, he sat down and proceeded to tinkle a bit into the potty. Ellie and I were there and got really excited. I watched his little face, worried he may freak out (like Ellie did when I was so excited that she started going). He analyzed us and decided it was a good thing, so he went a bit more. I'd say he put a couple ounces into the little potty. He was very proud of himself and we celebrated with chocolate chips!

Tonight after dinner he decided the same thing was necessary. I think what he was telling me that he had just peed in his diaper. We went forth with it anyway. He sat down and tickled into the potty a bit again. We celebrated! He was quite proud.

Could this be the start of something? I'm hoping....

Dirty

This is the word a mother does not want to hear when she walks into her two year olds room to get him up in the morning; and it's exactly the word Max greated me with as he was pointing to the brown stuff coming out of his pajamas! YUCK!

He was a total mess and I spent 15 minutes cleaning him, the crib, the laundy, etc. But, the good news is that I managed to stay calm enough that he had no tears! I call that success for a work morning!

Successful Performance

Today was the last day of Sunday School for this year. The young kids had a performance during the church service. Ellie and I worked on remembering the song quite a lot on Saturday. So this time I knew Ellie knew the song well. The teachers also had them show up early to practice. So, by the time it was ready for showtime, Ellie knew what to do.

She was shy for the first verse, but for verses two and three, she sand with the others. I was so proud of her! I stayed in my seat and videoed it. This was the first time I wasn't a few feet away crouched on the floor. I think this was her 3rd time up on stage for a show. I'm so glad she was able to stay there and do this. She is growing stronger and braver!

Max even sat with me along in church today for the whole 1 hour service without screaming!

Strawberry shortcake for breakfast

Nope, not for Max!

I decided to make everyone strawberry shortcakes for breakfast on the 2nd, becuase I wasn't satisfied with my cake for my birthday.  I convinced myself it wasn't a big deal becuase they are partially healthy. So I put a 3 stack in front of both Max and Ellie. Ellie enjoyed it slowly and deliberately.

Max on the other had smiled at it, looked at it, and just held his fork for 10 or 15 minutes. He never touched it! Silly Max. I guess my shortcake wasn't as good as the one he gobbled up at Aunt Vicki's!

A box of rocks

We stopped to play at a neighbors this evening and the kids were playing. The 6 year old is apparently max's soul mate. He brings out a 2 foot by 3 foot box of rocks and drops them in front of me to show them off. I can't say I was impressed, but Max's little face lit up like a Christmas tree! It was so funny.

You destroyed my dreams Mommy

Satruday's schedule was very off becuase of an afternoon birthday party. The kids were exhausted, so I put them in bed for naps at 4. By 5:30, I had to get them up becuase I was worried they wouldn't sleep at night. Neither of them did well being woken under these circumstances, especially becuase I was also trying to rush them through a bath before the babysitter came for a date night. I had to get Ellie in the shower without allowing her the 45 minutes she would have preferrred to wake up. She was a crying mess. As I was putting her into the tub at some point she cried at me, "Mommy, you destroyed my dreams!"

I could only laugh, as I thought she would at least be in double digits before I heard such strong words come out of her mouth!

I think she actually meant I did this by waking her up and removing her from her pleasant dreams. It's still halarious though!

After about 10 minutes of this crying and mess, I could tell she was just forcing the crying out and not really sure why she was crying. I asked her why she was crying, and in her tears she cries, "I don't know." I laughed and took the opportunity to be philosophical with her. I explained that she had a choice whether to be happy or sad at every moment in her life. That thought was enough to make her stop crying and listen to my theories on life. It was sort of funny. We had a slow uphill climb over the next 15 minutes.