18 Months

18 months-wow! Just think-I started this whole blogging thing when I was pregnant with Emmitt...Parker was just 18 months old then. I have a love/hate relationship with 18 months. I love the independence of an 18 month old, but hate the demanding do it myself actions (not words) of an 18 month old. Just last night I gave in to him putting his brothers way too big crocs on all by himself because he would squeal like a stuck pig if I even moved a fraction of an inch towards helping him. It took him a good 5 minutes to get them on, but the concentration on his face was worth the wait.

Emmitt still isn't "talking" real words. At least when anybody is around. We are fairly certain that he can talk, he just chooses not to. He was at Auntie Tammy's last week and clear as a bell, pointed out her window and said Park! But when you ask him to say Parker? He replies with Bro-oh!

Even little things like-cup or light or please or even help me...nothing. He will repeat a sign back at you immediately and then use it, but just doesn't want to talk. We really don't mind-once he does start talking-we'll want him to be quiet, so no hurry bud! But when the whining sets in and he is screaming for something he wants and refuses to use his words (or signs for that matter) to ask for what it is-that is making us all c r a z y!

I am really trying to decide between the above and below pictures-which 18 month old shot do I hang on the wall? I have baby pics of all of us hanging in one part of my house. Bear and I are closer to around a year old and Parker is 18 months old in his. So...what you do for one, you do for the other right? It is one picture that I never change out of the frame, so I gotta really love it....

Last Friday-I kept the kids home from daycare and we went to the beach. It was 60 degrees and super windy. They were dressed accordingly and I couldn't let those Easter hats go unused! Parker actually wore his hat again the next day out on the golf course with me and Auntie Tammy. The boys had fun throwing rocks and sticks into the water. Then we were frozen and decided to head to the Wharf, as promised, for ice cream! We attempted to sit outside but everything was swarming with hornets, so I popped the trunk of the SUV and let them drip with their ice cream there.

Someday, I believe that Emmitt will get used to the camera and actually start smiling (even a little) for a picture...but for now? He's just not that into it.

The boys can play so well together-sometimes. I have officially thrown all of the toys down the basements stairs and given them free reign of the whole space...in return I got a living room back! Yippee!! It is not uncommon to come home after work and start making dinner and the boys just go downstairs to play until I call them to come up. Gone are the days of setting one of them in the exersaucer in the kitchen and feeding them endless amounts of Gerber Puffs while I scramble to make dinner for two. We are officially making dinner for four. Most meals are still too much for us, but someday I know they will eat the whole pan of lasagna and a gallon of milk in one meal. Other times they absolutely cannot stand each other. Parker is at a very imaginative age and has things like, puppy houses and bear caves set up all around the house-Emmitt just likes to come "wreck" them all. You will hear Parker repeatedly tell others here comes the wrecker. Parker has recently taught Emmitt how to give an Eskimo Kiss-all you have to do is ask him for one and he comes at you with his head shaking.

They actually do love each other-they are both leaning in here for a very sticky kiss.

Boys Playing

I was feeling good enough this week to get out back with the boys and take some updated pictures. Emmitt has just turned 18 months! He is growing taller by the day. It takes some time away from the kids to see the subtle changes...after being gone a couple of days, I definitely noticed the growth spurt.

Parker has been a big help to me. He is really willing to get something for me if I need him to. He plays nicely by himself sometimes too, if I need him to. The weather hasn't been that great lately so the inside playing changes his mood daily. Some days he is content to play nicely with toys or coloring or stickers but other times, there is nothing that is going to hold his attention and he walks around complaining.
Sniffing some daisy flowers...momma's favorite.

He is such a big boy. I am lucky I can even get him to turn towards me to take a picture of his face. And this is about the best smile I'm gonna get.

Both boys are infatuated with riding on the lawn tractor. Bear can hardly drive with any speed holding onto both boys and steering the massive thing! It's cute to see them cover their ears when they are on it but grinning the whole time. It is inevitable, when they are forced to get off, that we will see the tears.

The boys are starting to fight a bit more when playing together. Every 5 minutes Parker is running up to me saying but mom, I had it first and Emmitt just take it away from me and that's not nice...I think what Parker isn't realizing is that Emmitt is finally starting to fight back!

The looks I usually get from both boys...

Happy 8th Anniversary

I pulled this post from last year...but added a year! Wow 8 years since we got hitched...it's fun to go back and look at those pics. Tonight when I get home from my trip, I am going to force him to watched the video of our wedding. I should have that thing converted to a DVD before it's gone. Maybe we'll whip out the scrapbooks too...Happy Anniversary Bear!

08/18/01

Here is our marital blessing


A favorite of my sweet hubby-I love the looks of the guys from behind him


Because you all know my husband does not dance...this is a great pic-I am fairly certain it was his one and only "fast" dance...EVER


My Milo walking me down the aisle


Sweet newly wed kiss...

I will never forget this great poem that gina wrote for us and had the girls read during the dinner...it was truly a hit with everyone there...people still talk about it 7 years later!

Here it is~

We want to tell you about how they met,
Something neither us nor them will soon forget-
Becky looked at me not so long ago, pointed at Barrett and proudly said,
I’m gonna marry that man one day-someday, somehow, we will be wed.

Now, ladies and gentlemen, please understand,
Regardless of her master plan
We had plenty of work to do,
For who Becky was, Barrett hadn’t a clue!
We did things we won’t mention
In order to attract Barrett’s attention…
We followed him from practice to class
And giggled each time he passed

Then Becky called me late one night
Her voice full of excitement and fright
And said,
You’ll never believe what I just did!
Guess! No, wait, I’ll tell you instead!
I just called Barrett and asked him on a date…
For Becky just could not be patient and wait.

And so the fairytale goes,
How it really ended up here, Lord only knows,
We remember hearing all about that first date
That love-filled dance in the driveway,
We all knew that it was fate
And from that they’ve never strayed

May the tears your cry, be tears of joy.
May you grow old on one pillow
May you change looking in the same direction
May “for better or worse” be far better than worse.
May you never forget what is worth remembering
Or remember what is worth forgetting.

May your love be like the wind-
Strong enough to move the clouds
Soft enough never to hurt
But always never ending.

As you sit side-by-side through this roller coaster of life-
Remember to scream from the peaks,
Hold hands through the dips,
Laugh through the upside-down flips
And enjoy every turn and twist-
For the ride is better,
because you share it together.

Here’s to love and laughter
And happily ever after
As Mr. and Mrs. start their new life
Join with us in toasting the new husband and wife!

I spoke too soon...

So the other day when I posted, I was all "things are moving in the right direction" and "I'm feeling better today"...blah, blah, blah! Well Friday night, Saturday and Sunday were some of the worst days I have had. Granted-day 2 of the surgery post-op was pretty darn crappy. But I really thought I was doing better and by the weekend, I would be feeling pretty good. I think it was mental. I knew that I had a business trip Monday (today) and Tuesday that I had to go on for my corporate job and I think it psyched me out a bit. Everytime Bear looked at me this past weekend, he would just shake his head and say "I don't think you are gonna make it, I don't know how you are going to be able to travel"...well by Sunday afternoon, I wasn't sure I was going to make it. I slept off and on all day Sunday while my children played nearby basically unattended. Bear was working. I let Parker watch movies all day long, one he watched twice! Then by lunch time (a late lunch) I made soft tortilla shells with melted mozzarella cheese in them for the boys. I took a tiny bite of Emmitt's and could swallow it! Hallelujah! So I made myself a taco shell surprise and could almost eat the whole thing. Super slow going though, but it went down fairly easily. A call to my mom for advice and we came to the conclusion that the "scabs" (I am so sorry, I know it's gross) are starting to come off and that fresh new skin underneath is creating a different pain. Holy COW! Sometimes water hurts going down?! I took a nap Sunday with the boys ate 500 freezie pops, packed my suitcase, said a prayer and went to bed. Monday morning I woke up bright and early, got ready and headed to the airport to catch the 7 am flight. Slept on the plane, drank a can of apple juice and made it through the flight. The guy next to me was a talkative one, so I told him my deal and he was cool with it. By the time I got my rental car and my ginormous smoothie from a coffee shop I was good to go. I drove the 45 minutes through Monday Morning Traffic in the Metro Area and made it to the club's Open House...just in time to meet the mayor and participate in the ribbon cutting! I only drank water and tea all day. Amazing what you can get used to without eating. But I don't feel just right-not crabby-but not happy go lucky Becky by any means. By 1 pm I am wiped out. I have a few slices of cheese-I think it's a new staple-I love cheese! More water and by 5:30 pm, I am heading out the door. More rush hour traffic, but I check in to my hotel...told the guy at the counter my sob story (usually it's because I talk soft now and they ask their question again...I apologize, say I had my tonsils out last week and say my answer again...) and he bumps me up to a king jacuzzi for no extra charge! You just gotta ask. I think I cried a little when I saw the tub! I head down to dinner, order water, a 7 up and soup...then I try the fettuccine alfredo...explain my story to the server...sprinkled some salt in my 7 Up to make it "non-bubbly". Manage to get some of the broth and veggies down...then some noodles! Ahhhh...food! Not feeling so crabby anymore. Rip the inside of my toasted bread out and soak it in the alfredo sauce-which was probably low cal right? I ask for a go box for the 3/4 of the food I can't eat. Get back to the room. Fill up the tub. Watch The Women movie I brought along on my laptop, in the tub, wearing ear buds and ahhhhh relaxed! Maybe this trip is also-meant to be....