Sweet Boy

I love the way you carried your blanket around the house tonight when you got tired. A couple of times you stopped and laid your head on the floor while cuddling with your blanket. It almost makes me want to keep you up late so I can watch you do it. But I feel bad for you and carry you upstairs to put you to bed.

This afternoon, you and I rolled an airplane back and forth a few times together. I rolled it to you, then your little hand pushed it back over to me. Something so small, but it lets me know that you want to interact - you want to play and be a part of things. You are starting to learn more every day - you are at the stage where I feel like I can actually watch you learning. It is magical.

When we see someone you don't know, and you are feeling shy, you curl your head into my shoulder. Or, if you are on the floor, you'll bend your head down to the floor to break eye contact and look away. It is so darn cute to me.

You love to snuggle and cuddle. You pick things up with your chubby little fingers and hand them to me. I love it when you do that.

Maxwell - You are such a sweet boy - please stay my sweet little boy always.

First Day of 3 year old class

She was excited. I was excited. She looked cute marching off to her class. She says she had fun and from what I can gather, I think she did. I'm starting to feel a little sad that she will go every morning, but ultimately, I think it was the best decision. I was able to get a few things done this morning, which allowed me to focus on her this afternoon - and that makes us both happy.

Last Day of Summer

Today was the last unofficial day of summer for Charlotte. School starts tomorrow. (Do you hear the angels singing??)

Anyway, we decided to have a nice afternoon out as a family. Charlotte, Max, and Judd are all suffering from some sort of cold - Max and Judd mostly. They seemed to be doing better today, so I suggested we go to Stone Mountain for a hike.

We parked at the playground and let the kiddos roam around for a while.



Charlotte discovered that she could go down the big pole like the big kids. Fortunately, Judd was there to slow her down.



After some playground time, we headed out on the hike. Charlotte had packed her "telescope" and she said she would "spot the wildlife".



There were stones to jump


and big "fan leafs" to fan ourselves with.



Max was just along for the ride. He's not quite up to hiking yet.



After the hike, we were a little parched and thought a trip to Sonic would be in order.



A very fun afternoon rounded out with bacon wrapped, pecan crusted pork tenderloin on the Big Green Egg for dinner. It was SO good. Judd's really getting the hang of this BGE thing.

Tomorrow, Charlotte will start her 5 day 3 year old class - she is a Zebra. Here's to hoping she loves this year as much as she did last year - or more!

Hairs

I was in the bathroom putting makeup on or brushing my teeth and Charlotte came in with wide eyes and said, "Mom. Did you know God knows how many hairs are on you head??". Like she really understood that was something that was AMAZING. She learned this in Sunday school a couple of weeks ago. It is something that has stuck with me over the past few days. Something so simple, yet, so profound. Sometimes I know that God gave me children to grow my faith.

One funny aside, each night before we eat dinner, we say, "God is Great, Good is Good, Let us thank Him for our food. By His hands we all are fed. Give us Lord our daily bread. Amen" Lately, she has said, "Give us Lord our jelly bread." Not sure why this has come into play, but it has and it makes us laugh. She used to finish the prayer and then look at her plate - if there wasn't some sort of bread, she would ask where her "daily bread" was.

Boys and Their Toys

How is it that baby boys know that a truck is to be pushed around? Max pushed this truck through the living room, carried it upstairs, then pushed it down the hall and into his room. Is that something that is just pre-wired? Charlotte had cars, I don't remember her doing this.

Big

There I was eating lunch on Sunday after church. I look up and across from me I see this little girl sitting there. I'm not sure where she came from. Surely this is not my Charlotte, because she's still a little baby, right?

10 Months

I woke up Saturday morning at 7:15 AM. I turned to Judd and said, "wow, Max isn't up yet". We both looked at each other and then almost in unison we said, "He's getting big." It's that moment as parents when you know you have finally arrived - your baby is FINALLY sleeping better. You are FINALLY getting rest. It is getting just a little bit easier. But, that means they are getting bigger.

Max is walking 80% of the time. He still gets down to crawl if he wants to go somewhere fast - but for the most part, he has been content to wobble around the house. It's amazing. It also means he is starting to get hurt a little more. He wobbles to withing about 2 steps of an object, then lunges forward to hold onto it. Half the time he misses and smacks his head against whatever it is he lunged for. He has a big bruise on his forehead this afternoon where he missed the table at the dentist this morning. Poor little dude.

He occasionally will say "Dada" & "Mama" directed to the proper person. Other than that, there is just a lot of noise coming out of his mouth. We try to get him to wave "bye-bye" or clap or raise his arms for "SO BIG" - but he's not interested. I think he has his mind on mobility and that's it.

He is sleeping better. We have kept him away from night feedings this past 5 nights - we have been putting his paci back in during his VERY early morning wake up. This has usually done the trick until 6:30 or 7 AM. We are SO thankful that he is finally sleeping 11-12 hours. He goes to bed like a champ every night between 6:30AM-7AM. Takes 2 good naps a day. Overall he's a great sleeper.

He's eating great. Eats 3 solid meals a day of all finger foods. He takes about 4 bottles a day - I guess I need to start thinking about cutting that back. He does OK with a sippy cup, but not great. He does pretty well with a straw.

He is an absolute JOY to be around. He fits in so nicely with our family. It's like he's been here forever. His fussy periods are not often, and he can usually be soothed with a pacifier or a snack. His smile is never far away. He loves to cuddle after his naps.

One morning last week I woke him up at 7:15AM. (I wanted him to take a nap at 9, so I didn't want him to sleep too late). He wasn't really ready to wake up. I brought him downstairs and he laid down on the couch. He just laid there for 10 minutes or so while I rubbed his back. It was such a sweet, quiet, still moment.

Chalk Paint

We are trying to fill these last few days of summer with fun activities. The hours from after nap/rest time until Judd gets home are LONG hours. They are hot hours. I saw a blog post about chalk paint the other day and gave it a whirl. I thought it could help fill those post nap/pre-dinner hours.

As soon as I said, "change into your bathing suit" - Charlotte was all about whatever activity it was I had planned.



We painted for a little while together while Max explored the back yard. (Well, really I painted a stroke, moved him away from something he wasn't supposed to do, painted another stroke, moved him away from something he wasn't supposed to do, painted another stroke - you get the idea.)



The chalk paint worked out pretty well. It was equal parts water and cornstarch. Then I added food coloring to make blue, purple, and pink. When you paint with it, there were parts that looked like they weren't painted, but then dried bright.

Eventually, Max got tired of trying to eat the ash from the Big Green Egg and thought he'd check out the paint.



Much to his sister's dismay, he thought he'd try to paint too.



But, like me, once he looked at her with this face, she gave in and let him have the brush.



That's OK, though, she had the last laugh. She got to run in the sprinklers while he was stuck inside with boring old mom.



One day you'll be out there too, little man, one day.

Fall Mini Sessions

I know some of you don't follow me on Facebook - and wanted to let you know about these Fall Mini Sessions - I have a couple of spots left on both days - let me know if you want one! (The location is to be determined) Just email me - hello{at}cdavisphotography.com.

This is a great deal - and a fabulous way to get your Christmas/Holiday cards done early. (I can do most of the work for you!) Pass it along to all of your friends!

Walkin'

Just a little walking action. He has a little way to go - but he is able to keep his balance for a few steps at a time.



PS. The part where I call his name and he looks right up - makes my heart beat fast. I just love this little boy.

Happenings

1. Allison is in the hospital now waiting for baby girl to come. I've been waiting by my phone for a text saying she's here. Can't wait.

2. My dad is working in Greenville, SC. this week. My mom came down with him. She drove to our house yesterday, spent the night, and left after lunch today. As always, it was a wonderful visit. I wish she was 2 hours away all of the time and visits like that were more often.

3. Now that Max is taking bottles all of the time, big sis is starting to help out. She was VERY proud of her ability to give him a bottle this morning.



4. Charlotte starts school in 13 days. Two words: I'm ready. I knew August would be a long, hot month. August for preschoolers is hard. Public schools go back early August, so the pool closes in the mornings, the libraries stop having story times, there are no camps, and it's too hot for the park - what's a mom to do??

5. Judd and I had 2 date nights last weekend. We had two lovely dinners - even though the 2nd night was not the restaurant we originally thought we would go to. We saw The Help one night. I loved it. I bought new running shoes the other night out.

6. I'm slowly building up my running again. It feels awesome.

7. We have decided to refinance to a 15 year mortgage. The rates are SO low it is incredible. Can you imagine that if we stay in this house we will have it paid off by the time Charlotte goes to college?? This probably means that #5 above won't be happening too much more for the next couple of years. :)

8. Judd spent half the weekend taking down a section of our fence and replacing it. It looked a lot of time, but it looks fabulous.

9. I began my 33rd year last Thursday. It was the day after I wrote this post: She. I opened my email and my mom sent me this beautiful note:

She

Is 32 tomorrow at 6:31 PM
Made me a Mother
Made me a Mom
Made me a Grandmother
Made me a Mother-in-Law
Makes me so incredibly proud of the way she is a Mother that I think, "I must have done something right!"
Makes her dad and me feel such joy today and everyday since she was born
Makes us know that the world will be ok when we are gone because she is in it
Makes us remember the first time we looked into her tiny face that evening of August 11th-we thought our hearts would explode with love and awe and thankfulness, little angel so fresh from God

Let's just say Judd had to pass me a Kleenex or 500.

10. Judd's Aunt Pam needs prayers. She has been battling colon cancer - now other cancer - such as lung, liver, etc - for years. She is struggling. Please pray for her and the rest of the family.

She

She makes me want to scream.
... does make me scream.
... makes me laugh really hard.
... makes me cry.
... challenges me.
... makes me think.
... makes me want to be a better mom.
... makes me want to be a better person.
... makes me want to shield her from all pain.
... makes me want to lock myself in my room.
... makes me want to play dollhouse, memory, and go fish.
... makes me ache with love.
... teaches me daily.
... is my daughter who I love more than I ever thought possible.

Steps

(Yes, he's eating a page of stickers - whatever has to be done in the name of capturing a picture)

Sunday night we were over at Dave & Erin's. All of the sudden, Max let go of a chair and walked 3 steps to a table. After much screaming from the adults, we pulled him back to the chair to see if he would do it again. Sure enough, he did. Then, he did it again, then again - you get the idea. His first official set of steps. It came out of nowhere. Maybe it had something to do with the very energetic 3 year old girls he was trying to chase around.

He has done a little more "walking" the past couple of days, but his main mode of transportation is still crawling. That's just fine with me. I'm not sure I'm ready for my baby to begin this biped chapter just yet.

Little Lunch Notes

School doesn't start for us until August 29th - however, I know lots of other kiddos are headed back on Monday. Some are headed to Kindergarten and may need a little extra love in their lunchbox. I came up with these little notes last year and thought I'd share 'em with you for this new school year.

Enjoy!

Crayon Lunch Notes

(Let me know if the link doesn't work - I'm trying this for the first time here.)

It's Not Fair!

I hear the phrase, "It's Not FAIR!", about 5,000 times a day coming out of Charlotte's mouth. Yesterday, it was especially frequent. It seems the more tired she is, the more it is said. It would be one thing if she knew how to use the phrase, but she only gets it into the correct context 50% of the time - and I think that's luck. I'm not sure where she learned this. I can't believe it starts this early, the pouting, the scowls, the "It's not fair." Sometimes when she says this, I see her 16 year old self slam the car keys down, spin on her heels, curls flying, marching upstairs screaming, "It's NOT FAIR!".

Breastfeeding 0 : Bottle 1

When I came back from Tybee mid July, Max wasn't too interested in nursing. In fact, one night he pulled off and cried when I tried to nurse him. The bottle provides instant gratification, I guess I don't. He wouldn't latch back on, so I went down, made him a bottle, and told myself that this was the beginning of the end.

I had been thinking about weaning him for a little while - probably since he was 8 months or so. In order for him to not be too distracted when he nursed, I had to kick Charlotte out of whatever room I was in, close the door and have it be completely quiet. Since that is impossible when she is at home, it was becoming a frustrating task - for me, for Max, and for Charlotte. She always looked so hurt.

But, it is super easy to not deal with bottles when nursing. It is also super cheap. I really wanted to continue until he was a year. But, it just wasn't in the cards for us.

I gradually weaned him from daytime feedings. While at my parent's house at the end of July, I nursed him at night and in the morning. Since we've been back, I have stopped completely. I have some stored milk in the freezer that I have been mixing with formula to ease him into the change. He's doing just fine.

I'm a lot more sad about it this time than I was when I weaned Charlotte. I guess knowing that it is my last time.

I miss his little stomach against mine. I miss the way his hand always reached up and touched my face. I miss the closeness.

He is getting so big.

Big Sister

"Max, I'll keep you company while you eat. Mom, I'm gonna read Max my school book"

It's the little things you do that make me want to smother you with kisses and hugs. Little things like wanting to keep your brother company, giving him toys to play with, making him laugh in the back seat of the car, telling him "I love you Buster". Those things make you a wonderful big sister.