OCD?

While one would never know it from taking a peek into my house on any given day, I am a very organized person and like everything to be in its proper place. I like my closet to be arranged by color, then sleeve length; my sewing room has fabric neatly folded in baskets; shoes are to be lined up on shoe racks with their mates; the broom in the pantry must be propped against the left wall, never the right.

And isn't it amazing how much kids pick up? Jackson has developed a love for all things orderly & organized. He lines up his matchbox cars in rows, in a very specific order. Don't dare mess with them once they are in place or a meltdown will ensue. He fanatically puts his shoes in the closet as soon as he takes them off and is greatly disturbed if his shoe cubby is occupied with another pair. His pacis must go in the metal tin on his dresser immediately upon waking up to avoid panic. The fridge magnets must be lined up just so, and left that way. And if his hands get dirty & cannot be immediately wiped clean, be prepared for major chaos. Over the weekend, I made him a "parking lot" on the deck for his riding toys. He LOVED having a place for each of them.

Potty Training -- Epic Fail!

So inspired by Jackson's sudden interest in peeing in the potty after waking from his afternoon nap, I decided to bite the bullet & put him in his Lightening McQueen "Big Boy" underwear.  I made a huge deal about keeping Lightening McQueen dry and we went downstairs to play.  Silly me.

Dry Underwear #1:  We headed outside to check the mail.  Of course he can't reach the mailbox, so I had to pick him up and when we got back inside, I noticed my shirt was wet.  It took me about 10 minutes to realize why.  Off goes the wet Lightening McQueens and on goes....

Dry Underwear #2:  A pair of "bulldozer" underpants.  I discuss how we don't want to get our bulldozers wet and if he has to potty, to tell Mommy.  "Okay, Mommy!"  So  we go outside to play....and about 10 minutes later (before I can even mention trying to go potty), he is squatting on the deck and making a puddle.  So we move on to...

Dry Underwear #3:  Blue stripes.  Some friends stop by to bring us dinner so we are playing inside when Jackson comes to me briefly, and denies having to pee when I ask him.  Shame on me for not making him go sit on the potty....because about 15 seconds later, the is standing at the coffee table playing with his cars and he starts trickling, ON my rug.  A puddle. Splashing. We race to the little potty (against his screaming protests) and try to summons at least another drop of pee so we can do the "Potty Dance."  Weston's screaming in the background, Meredith & Parker are probably thinking we are nuts.  No pee in the potty, followed by me practically wrestling him to get a diaper on him. 

So I need a strategy.  I need patience.  I need to wait until the timing is a little better and I can devote myself to teaching him rather than expecting him to teach himself.  I need to order more size 5 diapers.

Happiness...

Clearly still learning the proper use for big boy underwear.




And still learning...




Hanging out with Poppy & cousin Parker




Snoozing in the Bjorn...Successfully dismounted this contraption without waking him up.




Pretending to be Daddy



Love these two!




Weston's first real bath




Pretending to have a sleepover...




"I'm not choking him, I promise!"




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My Sunshine

"You are my sunshine,
my only sunshine.

You make me happy
when skies are gray.

You'll never know, dear
how much I love you;

Please don't take
my sunshine away."

Ever since Jackson was an infant, I've always sang this song to him every night.  I wanted to create a memory for him so that in years to come, whenever he hears that song, he'll think of me.

Earlier this week, as I was singing to him at bedtime, after I sang, "You'll never know dear, how much I love you", he looked up at me and said, "I love you too, Mommy."  Melt my heart.  He could tell that I loved hearing him say that and how much it meant to me because now every time I sing our song to him, he tells me that he loves me too.  I love being a Mommy.

Labor Day Weekend

As we have for the past 7 years (with the exception of the years we got married & had Jackson), we spent the long Labor Day weekend with Dad & Linda. We used to hit up the beach, but the past couple years have been at their mountain house in Blowing Rock.

When Linda extended the invitation to us in June, we declined since we'd have a newborn and could not fathom travelling. However, Weston proved to be such a good baby that we figured a weekend away would be good for all of us. And Uncle Michael & Aunt Jenn were going to be there and we all were excited for them to meet little Weston. Plus, Poppy & Nanny have lots of baby/toddler gear & toys so that significantly lightens our load of things to pack.







We headed up to the mountains on Saturday morning, stopping once to nurse in a church parking lot and then again at Pizza Hut for lunch. We had a relaxing afternoon playing at the house, and Poppy got Jackson on the 4-wheeler.




Sunday morning after breakfast, Poppy & Nanny took Jackson to Tweetsie to see the "choo-choos" he's been talking about all week. He saw cowboys & indians, got to ride lots of rides, got to ride Tweetsie and even got a bullet shell from the cowboy as a souviner. That afternoon we went to Bass Lake and strolled the boys around, looking at at wildlife, trees and enjoying the gorgeous weather. After dinner, we chilled on the back deck and Poppy taught Jackson how to use a cap gun (like the cowboys at Tweetsie) which we have mixed feelings about...












We came back to Greenville on Monday and spent the evening recovering. Now our new "normal" is here...no more house guests for a few weeks and no trips on the horizon. Just me and my boys hanging out all day, enjoying this precious season of baby cuddles, sticky hands & lots of kisses.

Time for Potty-Training?

As I was changing his diaper this morning, Jackson grabbed his wee-wee, said "I pee-pee on Mommy!", and  pretended to pee on me, complete with the 'psssss' sound effects.  I guess its time to start being hardcore about potty-training.  Tips?!??!

3 Weeks Old

Wow, how can it have already been 3 weeks since our precious Weston was born? We've adjusted pretty well so far and Weston is a chill baby, which is a great balance to our little 2-year-old tornado.

Last night, I weighed Weston on our baby scales and he clocked in at 10lb 5.5oz. That's nearly 3 lbs over his birth weight. He's holding his head up pretty well and can turn it from side to side when on his tummy. He's as strong as an ox and has quite a bit of definition in his quads, calves & biceps (sounds crazy but those itty bitty muscles actually look muscular).

We have had several diaper explosions, most of which required an immediate full bath, which is no walk in the park. We've also both been peed on, no surprise there.

Weston spent his first 3 weeks co-sleeping with us, which was awesome for my beauty sleep but terrible for my nipples which he was practical glued to all night. His first night in the crib he did fine. I, on the other hand, struggled all day after getting up twice to nurse rather than the "mainlining" it to him while dozing back off. Last night, on the other hand, was a struggle and I'm starting to remember the many sleepless nights a parent of an infant has. And since I'm at home all day and can nap (as if!), I try to manage the night-time diapering, soothing & rocking so Ben can get up and go to work well rested.

People always say their second (and following) children get the shaft in terms of pictures taken, entries made in the baby book, milestones noted, etc. and while I swore this wouldn't be the case with my child, it's proving to be so true! I have been terrible about documenting Weston's first 3 weeks of life and I'm regretful.
But its never too late to start!



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