Early Santa Visit

I had no idea how I would be feeling when I scheduled our Santa appointment, so I booked it for November just in case.  It was early, but we had a blast.  Phipps has a new Santa this year, and although he's a little smaller and less grandiose than the last one, we liked him for the smiles he brought out of our boy.  We talked it up the last week and Hardin knew exactly what he was going to ask for.  A Jake and the Neverland Pirate Ship, A Scooter like Lillian's not like Cawley's (3 wheels, not 2), and a super cool flashlight.  We "wrote" his list and then I helped translate so Santa could read it.

This was by far the best year yet with Hardin.  He hesitated for about 1/2 a second and then hopped right in the ol' man's lap and smiled his best little smile.  He went over the list with Santa and gave some pretty specific instructions.  When he walked over to me after I told him to climb up in his stroller and he looked at me like I was nuts.  I looked back and he said "WHERE are my presents?"  

OH CRAP.  The entire week we talked about asking Santa for gifts and getting them if you are good, I never mentioned the delay in the action.  Sweet thing thought we'd go, ask for our gifts, and get them right away.  He gave me some very suspicious looks about my explanation, and then shot Santa a bad glare before finally leaving.  This kid keeps me on my toes!  

Also, if he continues to hone the negotiation skills he used this morning with me trying to get him in that outfit, we're all in trouble.  

Three Years Old

Our boy is three years old.  Once again I can't believe it's been three years, and I can't believe it's only been three years.  I literally have a hard time remembering what our little life was like without him.

At three we honestly couldn't ask for a better kid.  Sure he's a little wild and has his moments, but he's also incredibly sweet, smart and as easy as you could ask for at this age.  I know I'll never forget these things, but I fear if I don't write them down I'll forget when he was like this.

He is very independent as long as he's not tired, and once he learns how to do something he tends to get very upset if you take that opportunity away from him.  Sometimes I forget this, and he gets MAD when I do something he can do.  For example, laundry.  Now that I have taught him how to sort the colors, pour the detergent, switch to the dryer, etc., he wants to do every single step.  It makes the process take 10 times longer but he absolutely loves being part of such an important task so it's worth it.

He never forgets anything.  Ever.  He may remember and ignore it, but he remembers.  It's quite startling sometimes.  We'll get off an exit from the highway we haven't been off in a year and he'll immediately ask if we are going to the circus, or aquarium, or ear doctor; wherever it was we last went there no matter how long it has been.  He remembers the faces the animals made at him the last time we went to the zoo, the shoes he wore everywhere, how many brothers and sisters each classmate has, the song that he heard somewhere new.  This is 100% Jason in him.  I can't remember anything.  I've always been much better in the logic arenas, I take test by ruling out answers that don't make sense, not by remembering the correct answer.  Jason remembers every thing he's ever read, watched, or known.  He's one of those you want to have on your trivia team, but don't want to have to watch Jeopardy with.

He likes to keep the same sequence of events as well, and if you forget a step he's quick to remind you. This is both extraordinarily helpful and frustrating.  I know exactly what it takes to get him to bed, so that is nice.  On the other hand, sometimes when we are running late I wish I could skip a few steps but that always backfires.  I know I shouldn't complain though, he gets that honest and I do like knowing his patterns too.

He HATES my hair up.  It is so bizarre.  The second I pull any of it up he says TAKE YOU HAIR BOW OFF, MAMA, PLEASE.  If I don't he gets very upset and has even cried a few times.  It's honestly weird and freaks Jason out.  He also follows up if it changes.  If he lays down to take a nap and it's up, and he wakes up and I've showered and it's down, it's the first thing he wants to talk about.  I have no idea what I'm going to do on maternity leave.

He's so so so sweet.  SO sweet.  He's forever giving us unsolicited hugs, kisses and I love you mama/daddys.  He gives genuine complements, I like you're purple toes mama, that's a super cool hat dada, I like this supper mama, etc.  He's very concerned with his friends and cousins too.  Whenever he gets to do anything fun or gets something new, he immediately ask if Lillian and Cawley get to do the same.  Sometimes it's Levi from class.  For his birthday he asked for the same thing for months:  Three motorcycles.  One to me, one to Cawley, and one to Lillian.   He was serious.

He uses "to" as the universal preposition.  This is to the baby.  This is to my race car.  This is only to the laundry, not to the dishwasher, etc.  It's so cute.  He also hasn't picked up on "your" so everything is "you."  Take you shoes off.  

His baby sister is his baby.  Not our baby.  He talks about her all the time and it's always are you going to carry my baby up the stairs, my baby is so small, my baby doesn't have teeth.  

When talking to me he ends every sentence in mama.  Where am I going to today, mama.  I want to go outside and ride my bike, mama.  I am so fast, mama.  Literally almost every sentence.  I think it may bug me if he started every sentence that way, but having it at the end makes me insanely happy.

I know there are a thousand other things that makes him special right now but those are what stick out.  He's just so cool and fun and we love him more than we ever thought possible.  If these three years have taught me anything it's that we all three belong to each other and with each other in every possible way.  I can't imagine us with any other kid in the world, and I can't imagine him with any other parents.  I know we'll feel the same when our girl joins us and that has us all kinds of excited.

His little family birthday party is next weekend, but we still had fun celebrating this weekend as well.  Here his first few three year old pictures.

School Birthday Celebration

Today at school Hardin's class celebrated his and Sam's birthday.  Hardin was so excited the past week because he knew he was going to take Spidey Puck-Cakes to share with his friends.  I picked up the little candies last week and he's been eyeing them every day.  Last night he decorated the little store bought mini cupcakes all by himself and I kid you not when I say he couldn't have been prouder.  There were even a few excited giggle/shivers during the process.

I love love love how much simple little things mean the world to him at this age.  He talked about that awesome party all day long, and it was all of 10 minutes from start to finish.  This weekend we are giving him his big gift on his actual birthday, Saturday, and then hitting up one or two fall festivals.  Next weekend Mimi will be in town and we are having his family birthday party then.  He's going to have over a week of celebrations, so he aught to be equal parts confused and happy.

Also, I found out that these two turkeys have been sneaking around on me.  They were up getting ready to go to breakfast the other morning and I mentioned they sure did look nice for Papa Jacks.  Jason said they were going to play golf after and I made a big fuss about taking pictures.  Jason looked at me funny and I told him it was a big deal, I needed a picture of their first golf outing together.  They both gave me the "she's crazy" look and then Jason told me it wasn't the first time.  Come to find out they've been going to the course to chip and putt on daddy day care Wednesdays since the beginning of summer.  At first I thought I really should ask more questions around here, but I don't want to.  I love the fact that I don't worry for a second about what they do all day.  Neither one of them can sit still so I know they keep busy.  They have some kind of special relationship, these two, and I love watching it.

I. Am. NOT. Three. Yet.

I haven't been blogging as much, but rest assured we have been busy keeping up with our boy.  He is a total trip right now and runs 90 to nothing from the moment his feet hit the ground until he crashes at night.  I would be lying if I said we didn't know where he gets it from though, he's equal parts crazy me and active Jason.

One story that had us laughing this week was from School.  We were running late Thursday and I had to walk him in.  His teacher said she was happy to see me because she's been wanting to talk.  I cringed.  She said something along the lines of "tell me about his potty training."  I fought the urge to laugh.  What potty training?  She then told me at all of their potty breaks he'll pull down his pants and pull-up but will not even consider touching the potty.  If they push at all he holds his hands up and says "NO! I. Am. NOT. Three. Yet." I laugh just thinking of him standing there, britches down, hands up saying that.

I can see how that may be confusing to someone who doesn't live here, but for us it's quite normal.  After an epic potty training fail this summer, we dropped the issue.  Then out of nowhere he started telling us he was going to go to the big boy potty when he turns three.  We are anxiously waiting to see if that actually happens.  His teacher thinks he might just surprise us and transition quite easily.  She said he's a very determined little fellow and if he set this personal goal for himself he'll likely achieve it.

We shall see.  None of us are in a big hurry about it.  Before I had a kid it baffled me that everyone didn't rush to potty train their kids as soon as possible.  Now the thought of being out in public, during the winter, with a newborn and a three year old trying to find a public restroom makes me a lot more anxious than any pull-up ever has.

This weekend Jason played in a three day tournament at Lake Oconee.  Hardin and I kept ourselves busy at the pumpkin patch with Austin Saturday, and working on the baby room today.  We took a trip down to the lake to try and take a three year old picture at Gigi's request, but that was better in theory than execution.  He wanted nothing to do with standing still and smiling when there were so many rocks to dig and throw.  And I had no Smarties, so the few good smiling pictures I have his teeth are stained brown with the mini M&Ms I took to bribe him.  We'll try again for "the one" but these capture the real H pretty well. He's curious and fun, busy and all boy.  I wouldn't trade an ounce of that for a silly picture.  

Practice makes perfect.

Katie and baby Cash were headed to the mall today and stopped by our house for a visit before hand.  I talked to Hardin all morning about how to behave around the baby, and up until the last 20 minutes or so he did great.  He couldn't wait to hold him, and was genuinely enamored with him all around.  This is the first time he's really been old enough himself to show any interest in a young baby, and it warmed my heart.  We still have a way to go in helping him realize his own physical strength, but I have a feeling he's going to take his role as big brother very serious and ace it from the start.    

He also makes an excellent model to test lighting before getting the baby ready to take pictures, sweet boy.  

The Fair (and the not fair)

We had a grand plan Sunday to take Hardin to the Gwinnett County Fair.  I texted Cat early that morning to see if she wanted to bring the kids to meet us and they agreed.  Perfect, right?  WRONG.  I forgot to check what time the fair opened so when we arrived at 10:45 to the sign that said "Gates Open at 1pm," we had three very disappointed little kids.

We made a quick change to CatchAir and fortunately the kids had a great time.  Between playing with his cousins and Zaxbys, I'm sure Hardin had a perfect day. 

But mama wasn't going to give up.  Our week was completely full except tonight so the boys met me at my office this afternoon and we headed to the fair, again. 

I had shown Hardin a handful of pictures people posted over the weekend so he knew what to expect, and I think that helped a lot with calming any fears.  He was wide open and ready to go!  We started slow with the motorcycles, boats, etc.  Then walked around to look at the petting zoo and big kid rides.  After snacks, we told Hardin to pick a few more rides.  First he rode the alligators floating in water, then he got off and pointed right at the rollercoaster and said "THAT one."  We watched it a few times to test the waters but his determination did not waiver.  He was sure he wanted to ride it.  Jason joined him and said he was grinning ear to ear the entire time.  I was one proud mama bear, and thought it was a pretty big deal for a two year old.

First fair ride ever!

 

First coaster!

Proud boys.

A Week of First

This week Hardin went back to school.  Last year he was in a Mother's Morning Out class and this year he started real preschool.  I was nervous about the carpool line because we walked him in last year, but he did great.  It helped to see a lot of his buddies get out before him, and we are very happy
that 5 of the 10 kids in his class last year are in his new class as well.  We've had no tears and a tuckered out little guy both days so far, total success.  I'm also excited because he starts Chapel this year.  I can't imagine anything sweeter than a sanctuary full of preschoolers learning together.  Gives me chills. 

We also had Hardin's first soccer practice and scrimmage today.  He's been talking about it and practicing ever since we signed him up.  Jason is one of his two coaches, and they've been attempting the drills Jason learned at coaches training.  We left the house this morning with one VERY pumped up little player. 

He did great for pictures (they do it the first day) and practice, but by time the scrimmage rolled around he was done, along with 1/2 the team.  All he wanted to do was play with my video camera and beg for one of the team snacks we brought.  We didn't push much at all though, it was overwhelming for us so I can only imagine how it was for a tiny little fella.  There were kids and parents running around everywhere, and no one knew what they were doing except the few boys who were old enough to play last year.

That said, he's been talking about how awesome it was all day.  I'm sure in a few weeks we'll have a team full of kids ready to participate.  For the record, Jason loved coaching.  When we were leaving he looked at me and said "that was awesome."  I had no idea if he was joking or not... but luckily he was 100% serious.

After soccer we rushed to get Jason to his tennis match, his men's league started today as well.  I've only seen Jason play mixed leagues until today, so that was pretty cool.  It's a whole new world of fast paced competitiveness and it was fun to see him in his element.

It looks like the majority of my Saturdays this fall will be spent watching my boys play ball, and I can't imagine anything I'd rather do more. 


This picture sums up Hardin during the scrimmage, right by daddy's side if he wasn't in my lap.

This picture sums up Jason.  Trying to stay out of the way while giving some sort of direction. 

Hardin also moved into his big boy room this week.  He loves it and I'll take pictures when I finish up a few things.  The first night he got up a few times and told me he was just a little bit scared. But when I asked if he wanted to go back to his old room he said no way.  It's been smooth sailing ever since. 

St. Helena Island

We were not planning on taking a big vacation this year because of my pending maternity leave, but we got an invitation we couldn't refuse to join the McWhorter clan in St. Helena Island.  We had a wonderful relaxing time and the kids had a BLAST.

We couldn't leave until Sunday because I took my mom to the Kenny Chesney/Zac Brown concert Saturday night.  That was something 6 months pregnant.  Love my mama, but wouldn't sign up for that again.  A Dome full of drunk rednecks... crazy!  Baby girl danced the night away though in all the loud music and vibrations.

We arrived at the beach Sunday afternoon after our most eventful road trip to date.  Jason managed to find every last back road between Buford and Beaufort, and Hardin got car sick during the second hour.  It made for a touch and go, very stinky, remainder of the ride.  Fortunately he was just fine after getting sick and didn't miss a beat the rest of the week.

The house we stayed in was great, and had a nice big porch that wrapped all the way around.  If the kids ran that loop once they ran it 1000 time.  We brought Hardin's bike and he also leveled poor Lillian on the first day there.

Other than eating, we went to the beach and waterfront park.  The kids played "family" and Spider man and iPads and everything else they could think of.  The littles liked the sand and Cawley loved the waves.  He was so fun to watch out there.  Hardin seriously couldn't love those two cousins of his an ounce more, and we are lucky the feeling is mutual.

Hardin slept with Cawley all week in a double bed without rails or guards and did great.  He'll be happy to tell you what a big boy that makes him.  We think they fell asleep holding hands the first night.

We came back Friday after dropping Mimi off at the Savannah airport.  It was nice to have all weekend to decompress and get ready for the week.  Jason also had a "coaches meeting" early Saturday.  He and Hardin are getting very excited for the impending soccer season.

That's about it for the past few weeks, it's been fun!

Oh, one sad note.  I packed one smocked fish Jon Jon for the beach to take pictures in.  I knew the chance of him wearing a "baby thang" were slim to none, but I thought I had enough Skittles packed to bribe him for a few minutes at least.  No such luck.  He damn near had a panic attack when I tried to get him in it.  I'm not giving up all hope yet, but I'm positive his sweet baby boy clothes days are coming to an end soon.  I'm far from okay with it.

Poor buddy, this is what it looks like when I forget his allergy medicine for 3 days.  Those sad eyes.

(yes, Jason's been working out like crazy and looks awesome... those abs!)