Tattoos and Drool

Fawyer

Yesterday, Sawyer helped me write out a birthday card for DH. I tried to instruct him in writing “Happy Birthday” but we ended up with “Happe” and then the B-I in birthday, plus a bunch of random letters. It still charmed the pants off DH though, of course.

Also. He gets the letters F and S confused, because they sound so similar. And he absolutely insists that his name is spelled F-A-W-Y-E-R. Ah well, what can ya do?

DH and I had a deliciously unhealthy birthday dinner at Outback, where I guiltlessly snarfed down a bloomin’ onion, Caesar salad, bloomin’ burger (okay, so I only ate half of that) and some fries. NOM NOM NOM.

Mouse?

“MOUSE! MOUUUUUSE!”

“Mickey Mouse?”

“Nooooo! Mouse!”

“Cheerios?”

“Nooooo!”

“Mail?”

“Nooooooooooo”

Then he bangs on the pantry door and as soon as I let him in, what does he make a beeline for? MARSHMALLOWS. Duh, Mom.

Add Magic Erasers to the Grocery List

My children both have a profound love for crayons. For Beckett, it’s tasting them. He just can’t resist the rainbow of wax and it’s not uncommon for me to open a diaper and find hot pink nuggets staring back at me. It’s become a game for him now, and he gnaws on them just to get a rise out of me. He’ll sneak one from Sawyer’s stash and wait until I notice him inching it towards his mouth, and then dart off behind the recliner giggling his head off. He’s apparently shared this hobby with the cats too, because a couple weeks ago I witnessed Zachary pooping a yellow crayon turd into the little box. Lovely, right?

Sawyer, on the other hand does not eat them, thankfully. He draws. All. Day. Long. Every page of every coloring book he owns is covered in a prism of colors, and he’s even confiscated several of DH’s notepads for use as his own personal sketch books. I’m also happy to say that he’s inherited my artistic talent as opposed to his father’s, which is a very fortunate thing. I think at this point the kid would win hands down in a draw-off with Daddy.

For some reason, lately he has started *ahem* “decorating” my furniture with his drawings. I don’t know why, because he KNOWS he’s not supposed to. But nonetheless, my kitchen table is now adorned with two smiling stick figures standing on some tall grass under a very bright sun.

And on Tuesday, what I thought was an innocent gazing out the living room window was actually him depicting an entire scene along the whole length of the window sills. It’s wasn’t until I heard him announce, “Mommy, I’m drawing your shirt!” that I found the artwork that he was oh-so-proud of. And really, how can you be mad about this? It’s better than the boring white, yes?

From left to right we have some balloons, a dinosaur, a smiling sun and Sawyer and Mommy dancing around. Down at the other side were more suns, people, and random letters.

I tried to get him to pose with his masterpiece, but only Beckett was willing to get in the shot.

Toddler Logic

A couple recent conversations with my ever so logical three-year-old:

Him: Mommy, what does a monkey say?
Me: *monkey sounds*
Him: What does a cow say?
Me: Moooo.
Me: Hey, what does Beckett say?
Him: *thinks for a minute* Um, Beckett is not an animal.

Him: Mommy, where did you come from?
Me: I came from Grandma.
Him: And where did I come from?
Me: You came from me.
Him: No, I came from the store.

HA. If only it had been as easy as scanning his butt across the U-Scan and popping in a credit card!

Take Two

Wow. It’s been over a year since I cracked open the virtual pages of this thing. I just spent awhile reading over my tirades as a new mom of two and had a good chuckle. And then became terrified when I realized I’m doing that all over again, this time with three. Here’s to hoping that the little bebe I’m cooking this time decides to take after her oldest brother and be the most mellow kid on the planet. Yes, that would be nice.

Last night, I was looking at pictures of our kittens from when we first got them, and said aloud to DH, “I don’t remember them being that small!” That, of course, led me to pictures of the boys in their infancy and those days are all but a distant memory. Sawyer is now a very articulate and sensitive 3-and-a-half-year-old, and not nearly the terror he was at age two. Beckett will turn two soon, yet is still very much my little baby. Luckily, he’s past the constant night-waking and crying all day, THANK YOU GODS. How is it that I can barely remember what it was like back then?

I decided today that I would start writing here again, because I NEED to be able to remember these times. I don’t want to be looking at pictures a year from now and not know what my kids were like in them, how their laughs sounded, what antics they devised to drive me crazy yet make me giggle hysterically.

I need to remember what it was like to show Sawyer the first ultrasound picture of his new sibling at nine weeks gestation, and see his eyes light up with wonder when I told him it was a baby. “Oh, that is SO cool, Mommy!” Seriously priceless. He then declared to his father and me, “Mommy, you are having a girl baby. Daddy, you are having a Spiderman baby. And I want a boy baby.” I definitely cannot allow myself to forget moments like that.

I need to be able to envision in my mind how warm and wonderful it feels when Beckett crawls onto the couch with me and snuggles up right against my face to look in my eyes. He doesn’t say anything, just grins and giggles and plays with my hair. Such a mama’s boy he is, and I love it.

Sawyer is becoming more loving and affectionate as well, constantly asking, “Mommy, do you love me?” and demanding hugs and kisses throughout the day. I am so lucky to have these moments with my children and it would really be a shame to just let them slip away into the past, unrecorded.

I am one of those slacker moms who is the victim of the digital age, with very VERY few printed pictures of my children. The ones hanging on the walls are all I have. I take so many and am so far behind now that it would take hours upon hours and cost a fortune to have them all printed. I haven’t made tangible baby books either, which I feel awful about. It goes hand in hand with not writing hand-written letters to relatives or compiling photo albums of our family for my children.

I have to start somewhere, so getting our day to day life down in virtual format is as good a place as any. Some day I WILL have the time and money to get those pictures printed, and my kids will have books full of memories to look back upon. But for now, I’m happy just writing about our adventures here for safe keeping.

So, hello again!