New to 2

Javen had a big 2 year old weekend. We turned his car seat around so now he's facing forward. He loooooves it! And now he doesn't stop talking when we're in the car. He likes to count cars and trucks, point out back hoe's, dump trucks, bulldozers, etc, name any animals he sees and yells "WOAH!" whenever we go around a curve in the road. He keeps me laughing all the time!

We also assembled his new (to us) toddler bed! He was SO excited. As soon as he "helped" Jake put it together he asked for Bob (his plush frogs he sleeps with) and climbed into bed and said,  "Nigh Night!" Never mind that it was only 3pm. When it actually came time for bed we let him choose crib or bed. So far he's chosen his crib every time. I think we've got about till the end of April until Liam is too big for his cradle and we have to take the crib out of Javen's room.

The crib and bed on one side of his room...

...and everything else smashed together on the other side.

He's also cutting some new teeth which means it's runny nose time. Never fails. Off to Costco to by a gross of tissues!

Hurray for Honda

Did any of you read the comments from yesterday's blog post? One of those moments where technology freaks me out. Just wanted to clarify, it's not the first time our cable or internet has gone wacky, which is why I felt I had the right to vent. Maybe to balance out the woes of yesterday's complaining...I could tell you about what a great experience I had today at Honda. I got the oil changed in the CRV and I'm just so impressed with customer service, the prices, and the friendliness of the staff there. Not only did they change my oil for $20, but they also checked my car seats to make sure they were installed properly and washed my car for FREE! Thank you, Honda! (By the way...I was not compensated for my review of Honda's service today, just wanted to share with you my great experience!)

A few pictures that have nothing to do with anything I just wrote about...

His shirt says "My Favorite Color is Dirt"

My new haircut...bye bye hair! (Over 8 inches cut!)

Liam may or may not be making a dirty diaper at the exact moment I snapped this picture. Just sayin'

Liam Learning...

DSC_0640, originally uploaded by littlemcd.

Watching his big brother's EVERY move!

I Would Like To Fire Comcast

We've been having internet issues this morning. (*Thank you, Comcast. *Please note the sarcasim.) It's been frustrating trying to post a new entry. I've tried a few times and it will post part of it, or none of it and I'm too fed up to try again. I can't even get pictures to load! Going to regroup and try again tomorrow. If I could use any other internet provider I would, but no one else services our neighborhood. Boo on you Comcast!

Brothers Vol II

Javen loves it when Liam plays in the crib with him after he (Javen) wakes up from his nap.

Javen likes to play hide and seek with Liam. (Liam is surprisingly quite good!)

Brother story time!

Related Posts:

Brothers Vol. I

Baby in A Basket

...and Javen in the hamper.

Just another typical day at our house...

Toddler Fetch

Nap time around here lately for the big 2 year old has been, well...nap-less. I put him in his crib and he plays, sings, throws out all his toys and whatever clothing I haven't taped on. (By the way, I only tape his diaper.) After about an hour he starts yelling at the top of his lungs, "Mamaaaaa! Mamaaaa!" This usually makes for a pretty cranky and sleepy little boy in the afternoons- and a frustrated Mama. He used to nap for 2 to 3 hours. Ugh.

Now that it's nice outside I've taken to operation wear my toddler out for nap time. We'll call it WMTOFNT for short. Ok, scratch that...it's not much shorter. Anyway, today was attempt #1 and it worked! (Not going to celebrate too soon though, because Javen has a way of outsmarting my first few attempts at anything before I find what works with him.) Today it was a little game I'd like to call Toddler Fetch.

We have a small hill in our tiny backyard (though I'm sure it seems HUGE to 3 foot tall Javen.) I throw his ball down the hill and he gleefully runs after it to retrieve it. He then brings it back to me and asks me to throw it again, and we repeat the process for oh...about twenty minutes. He's a sweaty smiling mess. And when nap time rolls around, he doesn't put up a fight. No, he sleeps for 3 hours! Success!

Oh, and a little gardening never hurt either...

That's what works for me (for now!) For more works-for-me-wednesday tips head over to We Are That Family.

Baby Book Entry

This is more for the sake of my memory than anything else...so when I get around to actually filling out the baby books I'll have documented stats.

Javen and Liam both had their well visits this morning.

Javen
Age: 2 years
Height: 35.5 inches (Juuuust about 3 feet tall. WOW!)
Weight: 33 pounds

Liam
Age: 2 months
Height: 24 inches (Haha...a whole 2 feet tall!!)
Weight: 13.4 pounds

Both healthy and happy boys!

Javen's Birthday Weekend

We had a wonderful birthday weekend! On Saturday Uncle Jeff and Aunt Kendra stopped by on their way back from spring break. (That's Jeff's friend, Kyle in the background throwing Javen up in the air.)

That afternoon our little family of 4 packed up the "party bus" and headed to Opry Mills for a birthday dinner at the Rainforest Cafe. There was a 2 hour wait, so we decided against it. Next time we'll make reservations!

We still had a good time walking around the mall. Javen LOVED the fountain.

On Sunday (his actual birthday) we had a cookout birthday celebration with our good friends, the Tellers.

After it finally stopped raining, we took Javen outside to give him his birthday gift: a new Mercedes Convertible! (Thank you, Murphy Family for all the wonderful hand-me-down toys!) Javen hasn't quite figured out the whole steering thing yet, but he can make it go and clearly loves the realistic car phone...

Fun summer ahead for this 2 year old!

Happy 2nd Birthday Javen!

Happy Birthday to the coolest 2 year old I know! I can't believe how fast these 2 years have gone already. We are so blessed to be your parents; you are a wonderful gift from God! You are such a fun, sweet and happy little boy and an amazing big brother. We LOVE you!!

Click here to see photos from the day he was born in 2008.
Click here to see photos from his 1st birthday in 2009.

peek-a-boo!

peek-a-boo!, originally uploaded by littlemcd.

New shades!

Shopping Success

Yesterday, I won at life. I set out on a mission and accomplished it. (Mostly). I took my two boys with me for a shopping trip at the mall. We conquered that place. Let's review in a top 10, shall we?

10. Arrived just in time for Liam to wake up and want to eat.
9. Almost broke off entire toenail on rocking chair. Javen proceeded to step on said throbbing toe not 30 seconds after the injury occurred.
8. The automatic hand dryers scared Javen silly.
7. Nothing a little cookie couldn't fix.
6. What's with all the sympathetic stares? Haven't those people ever seen a woman out shopping with a double stroller before? I KNOW I'm not the only girl out there with more than one baby.
5. Both boys behaved beautifully.
4. Purchased a somewhat healthy snack to share with Javen for less than $3 so we wouldn't have to spend money on eating out for lunch. (San Pellegrino for me, shared a bag of pretzels.)
3. Found nothing on sale for Javen to wear this summer. Might try Old Navy today. This kid needs some summer clothes ASAP!
2. MOST stores are not stroller friendly layout-wise. Trying to maneuver a double stroller through aisles is pretty much impossible. (Side note: WHY, oh why do the children's clothing stores not have stroller friendly layouts? It makes no sense! They HAVE to know that their customers will have strollers. I might actually purchase something if I could access the clothing racks with children in tow!)
1. I found and purchased what I needed to complete my outfit for family photos tomorrow! AND it was on clearance!


P.S. Did yesterday's blog "Yogurt Face" have anyone else singing Lady Gaga's "Poker Face" and replacing the word "poker" for "yogurt"? No? Anyone? Just me? Thought so.

Getting Dressed

DSC_0058, originally uploaded by littlemcd.

Javen's beginning to become more interested in what outfit I dress him in. A couple days ago I let him pick out his entire outfit and he was THRILLED. It all started with tan socks...

Yogurt Face

Yogurt Face, originally uploaded by littlemcd.

Starting to play with my "new-to-me" camera and learn some editing tricks.

Yesterday for breakfast Javen fed himself yogurt, but if you know him, you know he hates having a dirty face and hands!

Some Liam Love

Javen's been getting a lot of face time here lately, so now it's Liam's turn!

So, Heather sold me her Nikon D80 and I have MUCH to learn. Be forewarned, the amount of photos I'm taking of the boys has now tripled. Let's hope my photo skills follow suit!

The Day I Blew Any Chance of Becoming Mother of The Year..

It started out innocently enough. Javen's nails were getting long and Heather is the only person he'll let cut them.

When she finished I asked her to paint my nails. I can't do it myself to save my life. Javen sat next to me and was in awe. It was like he'd never seen anything so cool. In fact, that's what he kept saying, "Cool!" When Heather finished painting my nails he begged us to do his. It was so cute. We couldn't say no. We thought, "Ok, one nail can't hurt. We'll use black, because that's not girly. One nail, and that's it." Until after the one nail he looked up at us with those big blue eyes and said "More, please? More!"

Much to the dismay of his father and every male relative he has, we painted five fingers. And all day long he would hold up his hand and say "Heather!! Cool!!" He was so proud of his "cool" nails.

Once his nails dried, he wanted a turn painting Heather's nails. We let him, with the lids on the polish.

Video evidence of his willing participation:

Don't worry, the polish came off on Sunday.

Mother of the Year, right here.