First Haircut

Unfortunately since I was the one doing the cutting and corraling of my baby and 5 year old all at once, there are no photos to document the actual process of hair cutting:( Although in hindsight T is quite capable of taking pictures himself but I wasn't thinking clearly. I just decided that day, when little T awoke with what I called crazy Jack Nicholson hair that just couldn't be tamed with any persuasion of a comb and water, the day became first haircut day!

The photos are out of order but you can see the before and after....not bad! I think his little baby boy fade suits him and turned out pretty well. Insert pat on the back here!

Brotherly Love

Rain Walk

The first 5 minutes of our walk!




Notice the trail below T's boots...that was what poured out of them as he was climbing!


We took a rain walk with the Brady's and Papa and Grandma Drew along the Guadalupe River...a little chilly, and we encountered some rain, but as usual our children are oblivious to temperature or rain if they get to be dirty and splash in puddles! Within the first 10 minutes T's rain boots were filled to the brim with water... Not until the very end of our walk did he realize his little feet were cold and frozen!

Christmas tradition

Like most others do at Christmas time, I have made it one of our traditions to make gingerbread houses with T for the last few years.

However, who's idea was it to make these dreadful things in the first place? I mean let's be honest - is it really that fun to do? It seems like more time is spent on the mother/parent end constructing the frame of the darn thing with that cement they call royal icing all the while an hour has passed and the kids start either losing interest or eating/dropping/crushing all of the decorative candy. Let's not forget the possibility that the gingerbread may never actually take the shape of a house/tree/train if the pieces keep sliding apart or cracking. Then you finally resurrect the thing and hope it resembles some version of the picture on the box. I mean please don't misunderstand, of course it's fun...for the kids"...but for me, I find the process a bit daunting and frustrating every year but will do it for the sake of tradition and making those all important holiday memories.

This year we went to the Brady house again to create our Gingerbread train(really great find at BB&B for $9), and T was super excited to be with his best friends that freezing, blustery winter day. Thankfully I only had one creation to build, Kim had a handful- a train, a set of 3 tiny houses, and one big house with Santa's sleigh. Bless her for having the patience of a saint, although she would disagree:), for most of her pieces had trouble staying upright and the icing wasn't helping out. We laughed about it, and she tried to have the kids cover up the problems with more and more icing and candy. Noah was a bit frustrated with his train not staying up, but T was a distraction and they went off to play knights and dragon's and forgot about it promptly enough!
In all my ranting about this silly process, I know that for my children they will have fond thoughts of the time they spent with their friends, the great messes of colored icing they made, and the wonderment of seeing all of the colorful candy strewn about the table. Those things are what make the experience worth while, and why I will suck it up every year and build those blasted stale concoctions!

I sort of miss it...

We have been out of our condo and living at my parents house for 9 weeks now, and are feeling very comfortable in our new "Flat" as we like to call it. We have lots of space in our four rooms - the boys each have their own bedroom, and the fourth room is our living room/Jason's man-cave with his VIP recliner! How I was able to cram all of their clothes and toys in one dresser and closet is really a mystery to me, as we sure have spread ourselves out so easily with all of the extra space! It is really amazing having my parents around so much, I love that they get to see so much of TnT and all of the cute and new things they do all of the time. And I'm not gonna lie - if I mention needing to shower or run an errand, and they offer to watch the kids, I am so incredibly appreciative, and it's just really helpful. It's nice to do those mundane tasks without the thoughts of keeping the kids, you know, safe or occupied. Celebrating the holidays and birthdays all together in one house was extra special this year too. I continue to feel really content with this decision.

However, a very small part of me certainly misses living in our own little home with the just the 4 of us. After all, it was our first home that Jason and I bought as newlyweds, just 10 months after getting married. We had big moments in that place, bringing our 2 babies home certainly being the best of them! After 7 years in the condo, I had finally gotten it as organized as possible and created the best functionality I could with the space. Those of you out there know what I mean when I say that organization and functionality in a home are key in helping get through the day with less headaches or frustration. I miss the comfort of the living room that I always thought was too small, my big ol' closet all to myself, the smell of T's bedroom, a garage for my car, and the Daphne in the backyard that was my most successful planting (it should be getting ready to bloom soon).

But I know that "Forever" home is out there, and when the time comes, we will find it, and I will I miss our first home a little less.

In this photo Little T was actually helping me pack the Tupperware for our move! During the month of October when I began packing is when he became super mobile, crawling around everywhere, and standing to cruise! And he's wearing my favorite submarine outfit of his, from Auntie Aleyta!

I wish I could say it was super hot this day, but it really is because my kids don't like to wear shirts, regardless of the temperature! This one was taken a few days before we moved out...They loved playing at the bottom of the stairwell together.

He is "One Hand" Old!

I am one of "those" mother's now! The one's who I would always hear say things like, "Where does the time go?!" or "But I still think he's my baby!" or "Why do they have to grow up so fast?!"
I have found myself making all of those statements, and then some, in the last few months. How is it that 5 years can pass in nearly a blink of an eye! And now I have this Big Kid. Kid! Up until 5, I truly looked at him and thought, oh he still has those chubby cheeks, or the dimples on his knuckles, and he still says cute words like Hippo-haw-mus or Lellow and I think of him as a baby.
But that term no longer applies to my Big Kid! Nope. He now refers to me as Mom, the official title you get when one has a big kid, Mommy is reserved for emergencies or non-social environments. He now asks for privacy, makes statements like, "I know I know Mom, you told me already" and plays with knights and castles instead of Thomas the Train.
The biggest change since turning 5 - School. My little man finally started Junior Kindergarten at Achiever Christian School and to say he loves it would be a gross understatement. The first day he immediately left my side to begin making new friends and barely had a moment to give me a hug goodbye. When I asked him to hug me, the look of total inconvenience on his face was preiceless, albeit a bit sad for me, but expected nontheless! His teacher Miss Linda gave him stellar reviews after his first two days, saying that he fit in seamlessly with the other children, already appears to have a favorite play area(the puppet theater) and LOVES recess.
The transition was a lot easier than I expected, for both of us:) I didn't cry as I thought I would walking away from the classroom on that first day...after all I did spend nearly every day of his first 5 years of life with him, so this milestone was bound to be more difficult for me right?! My eyes welled up for a brief second when I walked away but that was it! Having the baby with me was a great distraction, and thankfully Kim was there to take pictures and treat me to a playdate at Target and Starbucks that morning.
I still stick by our decision to wait as long as we did to start him in school. I am so very thankful for the endless amount of quality time and memories that the two of us were able to share for these short special years. Our children are only little for so long before they spend more time at school than they do at home and even though at times T and I had our rough moments, the end result is a bond is so tight and that I absolutely cherish.

Back to the big day. This year T made all the big decisions for his party. Ever since his birthday last year at the Oakland Zoo, he said that the next birthday would be at a zoo again! So when I told him he could have it at Happy Hollow Park & Zoo he was thrilled, and talked about it every day since September. He also chose a theme, fittingly Dragons, just like Happy Hollow's Danny the Dragon and his favorite movie How to Train Your Dragon. He chose the cake, the frosting color, the party favors, his party day outfit(Dragon shirt) and the EVite!
His party was awesome! Most of his close friends came and we were so happy to have everyone there to brave the cold day with us! The park was almost empty, as there was a threat of rain that day which scared most people away, so the kids had the place pracically to themselves! They didn't have to wait in lines, and could run about as they pleased! It sprinkled briefly but that was it. We had pizza and cake in the picnic area outside the park and it ended up being the most pleasant experience. I know T will remember this birthday for many years!

It's a New Dawn, It's a New Day, It's a New Year!!!

Happy 2011 everyone!

I have never been one to make resolutions, but I will instead just remind myself OFTEN to stick to those things that make my life enjoyable.....like the most important one, not sweating the small stuff, and taking slow deep breaths before I lose my patience, and spending more couple time with Jason, and to sit back and stare at my boys doing their ordinary things and remember that they are extra-ordinary! Also on this list that I will address often is that I am bound and determined to update this blog more regularly. Look at how much my boys have grown!!!