Happy 3rd Birthday!

I can't believe A is 3! I mean, really... 3?!?

Sweet boy, Happy Birthday! I can not imagine my life without you. You are so full of energy, excitement and passion. I love listening to you tell stories and ask questions because as tiring as it is for me, I know you just want to learn everything there is to know. You have such a thirst for knowledge and are so observant of the world around you. I have learned so much about myself (good and bad) because of you, and you are helping me become a better person. I love you, big boy. Thanks for making life so much fun!

Mighty to Save

first of all, c broke the shift key on our computer, so i'm not going to use many capital letters in this entry....sorry.

one part of being a mom i never saw coming is the fact that i spend a ridiculous amount of time during each day singing. washing hands has it's own song, cleaning up time has a song, coming inside, going up stairs... pretty much everything has it's own song. i don't mind, though, once i get past feeling goofy singing about putting on shoes.

and we always seem to have music on in the background. usually it's a's favorite... "the number one is fun, fun, fun.... one, one, one." (thanks aunt k... this cd still gets played constantly in our house). but whenever i can, i squeeze in some of my favorite songs. they must be getting more play time than i thought because my heart melted today when we were eating snack and a just started singing, " savior, he can move the mountains. my god is mighty to save, he is mighty to save." it was so precious to hear him belting out such beautiful lyrics for no other reason than the song was stuck in his head. so cool.

Anna?

A came into the kitchen the other day and out of the blue for no reason, we had this conversation:

"Anna, mommy?"
"Who?"
"Anna?"
(I thought he meant a girl in his class) "No, Hannah."
"No mommy. The girl with the mommy and daddy?"
(Hannah's parents had come to class that day, so I'm still thinking that's who he's talking about) "Yeah, sweetheart. Her name is Hannah. From your class?"
"No the one with all the boys."
"OH, with all the brothers?" We had visited friends around Thanksgiving time who have a daughter named Anna.
"Yeah! That girl. Anna?"
"Yes, buddy. Her name is Anna."
He then got this hearts-in-his-eyes look, gave a big sigh and said, "Hmmm... Anna." Then left the room.

It was hysterical. This boy sure does love girls :)

Go, Miami!

As a special birthday treat, P took A up to our Alma Mater to watch a Redhawks hockey game. Sounds like they had a great time, though A didn't watch much of the game. He enjoyed running around the stadium, and he loved watching the goalie stop the puck. I think his favorite part was getting to eat Skyline for dinner.

Talent Show

A and I went on a "date" tonight. He got to stay up late and went with me to the local elementary school to watch a talent show. Two of my piano students were performing piano songs, and since they are great friends to A, I brought him along.

First, the timing was amazing. We walked in late because I had to feed C before bed. The very next act was our friend J playing piano. She walked on stage, and A's first comment was, "Oh! Mommy, it's J! She looks beautiful." Which she did, but it was funny to hear that come from the mouth of a 2 year old.

The next act scared him to death. They shut off the lights and some girl hula hooped with a hoop covered in flashing lights. She had on flashing sunglasses, too. He was petrified and by the end was shaking and bawling that he wanted to go home. I almost caved, but then the lights came back on. Everything else went smoothly. No more scary acts. Just lots of singing (some good, some not so great), lots of dancing (some good, some not so great), and a few other random "talents". A asked questions about EVERY act in typical 2 year old fashion. Then my other student played, followed by a former neighbor dancing. We left at the exact time I had hoped for and saw all three people we wanted to see. Perfect.

On our way home, we were talking about the show. I asked A what his favorite part of the talent show was. He gave a huge sigh and without even thinking, he said, "The beautiful girls." Ha! I guess he's really 2 going on 16!

-Is spring here yet?! I know it's only February, but I am dreaming of warm, sunny days and green grass. I am tired of tromping through snow that is almost up to my knees.

-We are still in the preschool hunt. I wasn't sold on the first one we saw, so we have two more tours scheduled. I'm ready to make a decision and get this item checked off the list. Hopefully by next week, A will be officially enrolled in a school for next year.

-We are amazingly close to my baby's THIRD birthday! How can that be?! He is excited, as all kids are as their bdays approach. For a special bday treat, he is going to a Miami hockey game with daddy on Saturday night! He will love it... we think... or maybe hate it because it's too loud. Either way, he'll talk about it for weeks to come. Plus, he'll love wearing his MU Hockey jersey (thanks Uncle K and Aunt L).

-We have started taking classes to prepare for adoption. This is the VERY beginning of the process, but we are really excited about it.

That's about it for now. We're praying for a good night's sleep. For some reason, the boys have both been getting up at 6:15 this week. WAY too early in my book. I know they are tired tonight, so maybe we'll get some rest. We'll see. You never know what you are going to get with these boys.

How Did I Forget My Camera?

Today, we started our morning by heading to the Reds Hall of Fame Museum. I admit when I had first decided to take P for Father's Day a few years ago, it sounded pretty boring. I thought I would be a martyr that day and sacrifice my day to do something my hubby would enjoy. But, I was pleasantly surprised. It is a very interactive museum. There is a pitching cage that clocks your speed, you can be an umpire, catch pop flies on an outfield wall, wear Reds uniforms, watch blooper reels, and be in the press box calling memorable moments in Reds history while being "broadcasted". The best part is that NO ONE knows about it! We've now been three times, and have only seen maybe one other family during each trip. The kids have can run free and play with whatever they want.

Today there was another dad with his two kids (4 and 7). A LOVED playing baseball with them. He was adorable sporting his Barry Larkin jersey and oversized glove. And, I think he met the girl of his dreams. Little 4 year old Kate stole his heart. He cried the whole way home that he wanted her to come to our house for lunch, and he would randomly sigh and say out loud, "What is Kate doing?" I finally convinced him that the next time we see Kate, we can invite her to come to our house. This may come back to haunt me, but I am playing the odds that we will never run into her again, especially because she lives in KY. Both boys had a blast and would have stayed there all day if we could. The best part is, the price of admission gets you a ticket that is good for the remainder of the year! We'll head back there again soon, I'm sure.

After naps, we packed up the kids and headed to our library. A man came to do an African Drum demonstration. It was a lot of fun, and at the end, he let the kids play the instruments (drums and all kinds of shakers, thumb pianos, triangles, etc.). Both A and C had a great time. I was amazed at how focused they were and how long they sat and listened, though A continued to inch closer to the instrument table while glancing at me to see if I was watching.

Unfortunately, I didn't bring my camera to either event! I know, I should be fired. So no pictures, but trust me, it was a great day. Needless to say, I'm exhausted and heading to bed. I left the library with a migraine, which I'm sure had nothing to do with the group of kids pounding on drums! I'm going to try to get some extra sleep tonight in hopes of having a headache free day tomorrow.

The Lord Gives and The Lord Takes Away

I was so excited to blog about how we had two straight nights of good sleep. C slept (for the first time in his life) for 9 1/2 hours on Fri. night! Then he went back to sleep until 7:30! It was wonderful. I was super hopeful for Sat. night, but tried not get my hopes too high for another good night. I should have been more optimistic. C slept the entire night for the first time ever! He didn't wake up until 6:30 am! So wonderful! I felt like a new woman with all that sleep.

I was just starting to feel like we had turned the corner and were finally going to get some sleep for the first time in 3 years! BUT... Both boys have caught a cold. Not too bad for an almost 3 year old, but my one year old was up all night long last night. He was crying inconsolably and ended up in bed with us at 11:30! That's how I knew it was going to be a long night. Not much helped. We were up most of the night.

Hopefully tonight will be better.

Snow day

The rest of the city got 5 - 8 inches. We got about two. Just enough to go sledding though. The kids loved it. It took about three times as long to dress and walk to and from the hill as we actually spent sledding, but it was still fun.

Though you can't tell from their faces, they had a great time. A fire engine was passing just as we were taking the pic. C is enthralled with the flashing lights and A hates the loud sound.

I love the joy kids get from everything. So fun to watch him in the snow.

Enjoying the sled C got for his birthday!

Momma's work out.

More pics!

They were adorable reading books together. Notice C is sitting on a stool. They sat like this for nearly 15 or 20 minutes.

What a sweet, happy kiddo!

A loves his saxophone. C does too. Not sure our neighbors do.

The joys of learning to eat. His hair is plastered in food.

We LOVE boxes. Who needs toys?!

Some pictures

Momma was tired of getting all the layers on to go outside to play in the snow, so we brought the snow in!

In our house, playing = mess

A dressed up like a train conductor.

Reading with Miss C. We LOVE her!

Again... playing in our house = mess

Where did the week go?

Man, time can sure fly by and yet go slow at the same time. We haven't been up to much, but before I know it, a week has gone by. I guess it's about time to update.

-First, C has two new words! He can say "hi" and "cracker". I am amazed! Maybe it's not that odd for a kid his age (actually, I think it's right on track), but A didn't learn to talk for so long, that it caught me off guard. He's so proud of himself. Those two words and his handful of signs help him communicate so well.

-Second, A learned to do the robot dance. It's hysterical. He busted it out at library story time today and made my friend crack up. He makes me laugh so much!

-Next, potty training is still going. We are kind of in a rut. I'm trying to venture outside the house more without a diaper on A, but it's so cold that I'm afraid an accident would be way too uncomfortable. So, we are still working on it mostly at home.

-Pre-school. I can't believe I'm looking into preschool options. He can't possibly be old enough!! After the initial sticker shock I have found a few that are much more "reasonable" and close by. Of course, I missed the boat for one of them... I had no idea how far ahead you have to plan for these things! I am a little torn because as I look at the curriculum of many preschools, A knows almost everything on them. It's hard to think of paying a ton of money to send him to learn something he already knows. But, I know he needs the social aspect, and he definitely needs time away from his mommy. Talk about a momma's boy! I'm hoping we can get into one that is literally two blocks away. Of course, who knows if we'll still be here in September or if we'll be somewhere else.

That's about it. I know... the excitement of our lives can be overwhelming ! :) But I love just spending time with the boys. They are always learning something new and doing something to make me laugh (or cry... but usually laugh).