Lennox is too funny lately. He is getting so big that my eyes well up with tears when I look at him for too long.

• While unpacking Christmas decorations, I found Lennox's Wise Men keepsake so I thought it was a good opportunity to tell him about the Christmas story. I was talking about the wise men and how they followed the star and how they walked and walked and all they wanted was to find baby Jesus. I went on and on about how happy they were when they finally got to Jesus. Lennox looked at me with this "duh" look on his face and said, "yeah, they were just tired of walking!" Later he said, "The wise men don't believe in airports. They just like to walk." ha... well, I guess he missed the point of the story but we're planting seeds! He also announced that the angel said, "Don't be afraid!!!!!!!!!!!!!" but that's where his imagination took over and he started thinking about scary stuff! He totally missed the rest of what the angel had to say!
  


• We got our first "bad" report from school :( Lennox's teacher sent home a note that he had a bad week. He was telling her "no" and refusing to participate in activities. He was throwing fits and misbehaving in general. His teacher is very sweet and loves Lennox so she wasn't trying to get him in trouble. She just wanted me to be aware of his behavior. I cried over it a couple of times because #1 - I never want my child to be disrepectful, #2 - I never want my child labeled... especially as "bad" #3 - I felt like I was a failure as a parent because my child was being disrespectful. That all went down while I was working like a maniac. Anyway, the day the note was sent home, Jay picked Lennox up. He told me he was going to handle the situation. When I got home, we were eating dinner and I asked Lennox about what was going on and I asked if he knew what was going to happen if his teacher had to send another note home. "yes, I'm just going to get punched again." he said. I started laughing and asked what he was talking about. He went on and on about being punched and he can't do this and he can't do that! I finally figured out he meant "punished" not punched. LOL. When my dad asked him about the same incident he bent himself over and started spanking his own butt! ???? He didn't even get a spanking! I don't know where he comes up with this stuff! Anyway, after a weekend of talking about respect, obedience, and reassuring him that he was a good boy, he had a great week.



• Lennox is into "funny shows" (aka America's Funniest Videos). He just laughs and laughs at the people falling down the stairs and tripping into the pool. He never gets tired of it! I thought he would like Home Alone... I was so right! He LOVED it. He can basically reinact the whole movie. I heard him talking to himself saying, "This is your chance. Don't. Be. Afraid." Too funny!



• He is totally obsessed with transformers... how long will this last?! He got several Transformers for Christmas. He can totally transform himself. His most recent transformation is from a plane to a jet. When he is a plane, he is laying face down with his arms out perpendicular to his body. When he transforms into a jet, the head comes up and the arms fly back toward his legs... parallel with his body.... complete with sounds effects! He has also figured out that the song is "Transformers! Robots in disguise" instead of what he sang for months, "Transformers! Robots in the Sky!" :( kinda sad. He's growing up!



• I cannot get over how many letters Lennox knows. I tried so hard to work with him on letters before he started the 3 year old class but he really could have cared less. Apparently they sing these songs about letters that he really loves... "Connie Cow, Connie Cow... Cuh Cuh Cuh???" His favorite is Dexter Donkey. Anyway, he recognizes about 75% of the letters and he knows the sounds they make. I'm proud!

14 months

What's really sad is that I have misplaced my camera's memory card so I have no pictures to post. I really hope it is only misplaced, soon to be found, because I haven't uploaded any of them from Stella's birthday party. She had so much fun at the party and she was too cute! She did start running a fever right before the party started but she bounced back pretty quickly.

She will be 14 months on Christmas day. I am horrible and missed her 13 month post completely. I was working 7 days a week at the time so I have a good excuse! Now she is running and climbing on everything. She begs to jump on the bed but, thankfully, she hasn't figured out how to climb on it yet. She loves the bath tub and is always trying to climb into it. She has almost mastered climbing on the couch. Last weekend she was trying to climb a ladder (while I was standing on it) but she fell and has a horrible black eye. She fell on the baby sitter's steps and cut her forehead the week before. She threw a fit and banged her head on the driveway and has a bruise from that! I really do try to protect her little head. If you only knew all of the bruises and bumps I have prevented, I wouldn't seem like such a horrible mother!

She is still a fiesty little thing. She gets SO mad. I think what makes her the angriest is when we won't hand over our phone or when we won't give her the food she is currently demanding!!! She usually starts screaming then she turns and runs the opposite direction then abruptly turns back and charges with her head down. She's a mess. She charged me the other day and had her hand up ready to slap me in the face!! UH OH!! She also bit me recently when she was mad. Like I said, she's a mess. I don't know where she came from.

She is starting to understand so much. She follows simple directions like "put this in the trash," "take this to daddy." "Go find Bubba." "Let's go outside." "Let's take a bath!" She high tails it to the tub and the backdoor... everywhere else, she's really not interested! She is talking all of the time but I don't really know what she is saying except for "mama," "dada," and "bubba." She repeats things I say like ball, bye bye, hey, night night, baabaa. She is really getting interested in books lately. She likes the Priddy books with animals. She barks at the dog and baa's at the sheep. She makes a MMMmmm sound for the cow. She likes particular pages and gets mad if you try to turn to pages that are not her favorite.

Stella cracks up at Lennox even though he pushes her down 197 times each day. The poor girl can't stand up when he is around without getting tackled or tapped or toppled over. It's ridiculous. He gets in trouble. He just keeps doing it. Hard heads. It is so funny to hear her laughing at Lennox. She thinks he is so funny when he's doing silly things like throwing a stuffed animal in the air. He gets a kick out of it and cracks himself up too!

Stella's favorite things to do are go outside, take a bath, play in the spice cabinet, empty the clothes basket, put clothes on her head (Lennox used to put socks on his head but Stella likes any article of clothing), look at books, play with the hand manny erector set (which is weird for a 1 year old girl, i think), and she LOVES her babies. She kisses them and hugs them and drags them all over the house. She is very good at making a mess. She might even be better than Lennox at strowing and dragging things out.

She still has a bottle. I know. I need to get rid of it but she loves it. I took it away for a day or two and she was a complete mess. So, I gave it back! Maybe next month? Her hair is getting long and so much thicker and it's white... or light yellow. It is starting to flip up on the sides which is so stinking cute! She still poops in the tub about 85% of the time. I'm going to start putting her on the potty and see if I can get this girl potty trained!!! ha.

Doodle Bug is One!

My doodle bug is one year old! She just seems too little to be one. She is just a tiny baby!! Right? Right.

On her birthday, we had pizza and cake with the grandparents. She picked up her cake with both hands and handed it to me. I gave it back to her and she pushed it back to me.... like, "thanks but no thanks. Could you get this off of my tray, please?" She eventually threw it on the floor after I shoved a little in her mouth... that she raked off of her tongue for five minutes. I don't know what's wrong with her?! Cake is good!

We opened presents after dinner. By "we" I mean Lennox. I tried to get him to, "help Stella open them" or "show Stella how to do it. She doesn't know how." Even though he opened all of the presents, blew out the candle, and had ice cream and cake for dinner, he ended up in a pile of tears on the floor crying because he, "just wants his birthday back!" :( It was pretty pitiful. His little 3 year old mind can't quite take someone else, especially his sister, getting all of that attention.

Stella loved her gifts. She got a talking dog from Granny & Papa, a baby stroller from us, and a purse and tea set from Meme & Pop (besides a pile of clothes Meme has given me over the last month saying, "here, this is Stella's birthday present!"). Stella was so cute putting her baby in the stroller and pushing it around. Any time I give her the baby doll, she gently holds it to her face and purses her lips to give it loving. So, so sweet. Then she slams it in the stroller or on the floor! She looks like such a big girl playing with her toys... but she's not big, she's a tiny baby.

Stella is a climber. She likes to climb on Meme's fireplace, any stools she can get to, the printer if it is on the floor, etc. She tries to climb in the bath tub... she hikes that leg up and tries to throw it over. She needs another 12 inches or so before she'll actually be able to get in the tub. Last night she climbed up on Lennox's sink stool and fell right off. Her tooth went through her bottom lip. She only cried for a minute though. She's tough!

Stella LOVES to take a bath with Lennox. She likes to stand up and hold the side of the tub and stare at me until I tell her to sit down. Then she turns away and sits or falls over. Repeat about 40 times. She gets on one end of the tub and throws herself to the other side, likes she's swimming. She also sticks her head under the water and tries to blow bubbles. Most times, she forgets to come up before she breaths... then she chokes.

Stella's new favorite treat is ice cream. The first time she really had more than a taste was on her birthday. Last night I gave her a little more to help make her busted lip feel better and so I didn't eat it all myself. When it was all gone, she. threw. down. It was like I had just punched her right in the face! She followed me around screaming and if I looked at her she dropped to the floor and slammed her head down. Then she would get up and follow me until I looked at her again. It was pretty sad. I didn't let her slam her head into the concrete floors.... I am not that terrible. I did laugh a little bit though. She is not playing with that temper!

I would have guessed that Stella would be talking more at this point. She basically says, "Mama" or "Dada" or "Bubba" for everything. I have not taught her to call Lennox "Bubba," she just does. She will say "bye bye" and she knows what to do with the phone. She sometimes whispers,"hey" into the phone. When she sees my dad, she whispers, "Poppoppop." Yeah, she has him whipped.

Lennox and Stella love each other so much. Sometimes they play well together but alot of times Lennox is torturing her or she is stealing his stuff. She knows to grab whatever he has and run away fast... too bad she's not as fast as he is!

Lately

• Stella has been pooping in the tub every day! She started her habit by pooping next to the tub a few weeks ago but she has slowly progressed to pooping IN the tub. On Monday, I got Lennox out of the tub, walked to the other room, and quickly returned to find yet another tub poop. Unfortunately, Stella doesn't know that poop is nasty. She decided to catch a little and put it in her mouth!!! I didn't find any remnants in her mouth but it was still on her lip. YUCK. YUCK. YUCK. If you are wondering, I was only gone about 30 seconds... I don't make a habit of leaving my baby unattended in the bath tub.



• Lennox is so into Transformers lately. He will sit forever just "transforming" his Transformers over and over. He also likes to try and transform himself in the mirror. He tells me he is a truck but I haven't seen it yet.



• We went to my sister's house last weekend. I love my sister so much and I love her family so much too. I do not, however, love my children's behavior or sleep schedules while we are at my sister's house. My kids will not sleep there and I don't know what to do about it. No sleep for the Beech Family makes everyone so ill!!! If you happened to be a Dallas Love Field last Sunday night, that was me with the child who was screaming and flailing about in the stroller while throwing food and crying hysterically. That was also me whose child was laid out in the aisle of the plane kicking and screaming and blocking the path for all other passengers to get to their seats. That was also me who was sobbing quietly as I held my crying almost-one-year-old and my super stuffed carry-on bag as I tried desperately to keep my cool (obviously I failed at this... I was sobbing) while coaxing the fit-throwing 3 year old to the appropriate seat. That was also me who was laughing hysterically 10 minutes later when I looked around me and thought, "Surely this is just a joke. This can't really be happening." It did happen though. It was the airport experience from HELL! But, we did make it home safely so that's what really matters (I guess). I will not be going to the airport with my 2 kids, alone, for a long, long, long time. I did appreciate all of the strangers who offered a hand and expressed their concern that I had 2 little kids, a double stroller, a massive carryon and a huge checked bag but no one there to help me. Super mom failed her mission. For real!!



• Lennox likes to make up words. I told him daddy was in the shower because he was all stinky. Lennox said, "yeah, he's all scratchily and bumpily too." ??? We are still working on the F or "Epp" but we're not making much progress. I like to entertain myself by having Lennox repeat words that start with F. Frankenstein = Plankenslime, french fries = pinch pies, funny = bunny, fish = pish, favorite = paborite, frisky = prbisky... you get the picture.


• Stella is walking like a champ. On Friday, the day before we left for the airport, she just took off like it was her job. She hasn't stopped yet. That poor girl wears herself out but, by the end of the day, she is so tired she just lays right down and goes to sleep. I do love that! She is so cute with her little toddle. She just seems too little to be able to walk. I cannot believe she will be one year old next week.

Kristy Silbernagel Photography

Some of my favorites...

11 Months

THis is SO late!

Stella has been busy, busy! She has 6 teeth now... 4 on top and 2 on the bottom. She is walking. She takes about 5-6 steps at a time... she has maxed out at maybe 9-10. She is so cute teetering on those tiny feet! Her hair is getting so thick and it is platinum blond. When asked where her nose is, she sniffs really hard. When asked where her eyes are, she blinks and makes sweet eyes. She says mama, dadda, bye, and she is always jabbering at Lennox. She still loves him most but sometimes she gets so aggravated with him. She can't stand for him to lay on top of her where she can't move. I am not sure why that would bother her?!?!?! She loves to go outside. She still head butts if she wants to go out or somehow gets an inkling that she is going out... but then we don't. She loves to swing and play in the grass. She can pull herself all the way UP the slide. It's funny to watch. The first time she tried, she broke a sweat and fell backwards about 10 times but she never gave up. I have a feeling she won't be my "giver upper" child! She still eats anything I give her. The child adores eating. She is so tiny in my opinion. I don't know if it is because Lennox was a large 1 year old or because I am comparing Stella to Lennox now, but she just looks so dang tiny. I can't believe the things she can do.

Lennox Likes School

All weekend, Lennox has been showing me his school magnet on the fridge and saying, "I like school! I like school, mama!" I am so glad and I hope he always likes school. I did. Yesterday I asked what letter he learned and he said they learned C... "C says BUHHH, BUHHH for Tree!" LOL! Not sure what alphabet they are teaching but I am glad he is enjoying himself :)

Turning a Corner

Get Ready.... this is monumental.

Last night, I put Stella in her bed and she laid down and went to sleep!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

THANK YOU LORD!!!

Three Year Old Preschool

Before School ... yes, i know I am a good photographer :) I am taking appointments if you are interested!

This is cooperation at it's finest!

The tears were about to start here so I didn't make a fuss...

Show me "three" (that's close)

Here we go... get that ring finger working!

So now my little boy is in the three year old class. He's not the baby at the school anymore. He was not so excited about school before we arrived. He made me carry him into the class but then it was all over. He saw the toys... he saw "dose kids"... he saw his cubby hole... he never looked back! I am so proud that he is well adjusted and secure enough to go into a new environment and quickly get comfortable. Lots of kids were crying, which is totally normal and understandable (I as always that kid) but I was thankful that my child wasn't one of them (this time). I am not patting myself on the back that my child didn't cry... believe me, I think I just got lucky that he has that type of personality.

Despite my 100 question, he didn't say much about school. He said it was fun and he played on the playground with his friends. That's about the extent of it. His teacher is stuck in the Gulf of Mexico on a cruise ship but his assistant said he was really good. Amy also said he had a good day so I am pleased! I hope this year is as good for him as last year was...

Lennox - 3 + 1

It is just wrong for my baby boy to look this old!!! :(

Kristy got so many cute pictures of the kids. If you live in the area, definitely check her out!

Stella - 10 months old

So... we still have sleep issues at our house. Now that I am getting home fairly early, I can get Stella to sleep so much easier. The new problem is that I can't lay her down without her waking up. If I do actually get her laid down in her bed, she wakes up within the hour. When she wakes up, she immediately stands up and starts screaming. Oh geez... I don't know what to do! She just likes to be held. I'm weak. But... poor Lennox. It is so not fair. I asked Jay last night what we were going to do about her and he said, "I guess we'll just have to let her sleep with us." Uh, I don't really call that problem-solving.

Stella is so desperate to walk. She really, really wants to but she really can't! She pulls up on everything. EVERYTHING. She cruises around the furniture. She lets go and stands alone. She tries to take a step and she freezes. It's just too scary. She loves to chase the vacuum cleaner and pull up on it then she can just hold on to it and as it rolls it drags her along. So fun!

She might be a climber. The other day I hear Lennox giggling hysterically in the living room. I figured they were playing but when I peeked around the corner, Stella was on the couch with Lennox. He swore she got up by herself. If that's the case, we're in for a treat! Time to start teaching her to get off the couch since she has apparently taught herself how to get on. I have noticed that she is more cautious than Lennox ever was. When we are playing on the bed, she always stops at the edge of the bed. Lennox wouldn't even slow down... I can't even remember how many times he fell right off the bed!

Stella enjoys sweaty walks in the yard, eating crumbs off of the kitchen floor, playing in waste baskets, eating any microscopic piece of anything off of the floor, and screaming her lungs out from her bed! ;) She is a total head butter. Sometimes I nearly think she has knocked me out and then she gives me that heart broken face (like I did it to her) before she starts wailing dramatically! She's such a girl! She loves going outside and likes to head butt most when you don't take her outside. She also likes to throw herself backwards during her fits of rage. That comes after the initial head butt. She also uses that method of fit throwing when I am trying to get her to sleep. It is serious drama. I can only imagine what the teenage years will bring!

Stella is a cutie pie. She definitely has that going for her (at least in my opinion :)). My friend Kristy (see pic above) took the kid's pictures last weekend and I have to give Stella major props (like Cher gives) for being a good photography subject. She was giving out some super cute smiles and faces. She likes to scrunch up her nose & mouth and breath in and out really fast. It's too cute. She is still making sweet eyes but sometimes she gets confused. Bri was teaching her sweet eyes by blowing in her face. I guess we blew in her face one too many times because now when you tell her to "make sweet eyes" she blows and spits in your face! ha.

Stella and Lennox do play together sometimes but it is often a battle keeping her from Lennox's latest set up. The most effective strategy I have tried is having him give her one of whatever he is playing with. He gets to choose which one. Most of the time it's the one he doesn't like but whatever. Sometimes he plans ahead which one she will get and I have even seen him pick out one she will like... not just the one he doesn't like. How considerate!

Stella is still a great eater. She eats whatever we put in front of her. If she doesn't like what she is eating, she still chews on it for a while then takes it out, looks at it, puts it back in. Too funny. I guess she thinks she has no choice? Like I said, she likes to scavenge off of the floor like a little puppy dog. She hurries and puts whatever she finds in her mouth so I can't take it from her!

Stella has 2 bottom teeth and one tooth on top... It's the one next to her front teeth! ha. The other one just popped through too so I guess she'll look like a tiny vampire. SHe says "mama," "dada," "bye bye," and "ball." I think she says "hey" and she definitely calls Lennox in her own language. She is a big talker. She yells alot. ALOT.

Lennox in his "uniform" heading to the doctor's office

What's in the "pillow bag?" I know that looks dangerous but he insists!

From the looks of things, this girl "needs" a mess too.

She LOVES her spaghetti

She doesn't really love her sunglasses

Stella loves going outside. If I walk by the door and don't go out, she starts head butting and throwing herself backwards and screaming. She is serious about what she wants and when she wants it. This week she has started slamming her face down on the floor. Yeah. It has to hurt but what are you supposed to do?!

and the photo shoot is over!

Vacation

snoozing with Aunt Debbie

Lennox loves to swim. He likes to take his floaties off and "swim" but he doesn't exactly come up for air.

This is our vacation family picture! ha. I think it pretty much speaks for itself.

playing at Lulu's

Tiffany & Shelly

Sweating it out at Lulu's

I dyed my hair reddish brown right before vacation... it has faded alot. I like it now that it has faded.

We went on vacation to Gulf Shores at the end of July. It was really alot of fun. Unfortunately most of my pictures won't load on blogger (I don't know why) but Pat, Blake, Jordan, & Jenson were all there too. Lennox & Jenson had a great time playing in the lazy river and on the water slides. The beach itself wasn't really too spectacular with Stella. She didn't really like vacation too much. She decided she didn't really care for sleeping in the condo. That made life a little bit more difficult but we still enjoyed spending time with family!

Lennox ran outside and around to the backyard. I chased after him and said "Lennox! You better get your tail in this house NOW!" He started running really fast with a big grin and said, "OK, but I don't have a tail!"

Did That Just Happen???

Two Things:

1. Friday, my mom and I went to Sam's with the kids. My mission was to get everything for Lennox's birthday party. I love to buy in bulk! :) I accomplished my mission and my buggy was overflowing. Since everyone was starving, we stopped to eat some pizza on the way out. My mom decided that it would be easier for me if she took her buggy to the car and picked me and the kids up at the door. I insisted that she not do that. She insisted that it would be easier. I insisted it really wouldn't. Anyway, she went to the car and left me with the kids and my buggy because it would be easier if she pulled up to the door. Ok, whatever. I started wiping Lennox down since he was covered in pizza sauce. I had Stella in the front of the buggy but Lennox was free to roam. I was barely able to steer my 500 lb buggy to the receipt checking lady all while trying to keep my 3 year old from maneuvering out of the door and into the parking lot without me. Since Sam's was PACKED, we waited in line for a couple of minutes. I got some looks of sympathy that I have seen before when I am in public with my kids. The line quickly filled up behind me. When it was almost my turn to turn over my receipt, Lennox slipped out of my hand, whipped around my back, and then I felt it. A cool whiff of a breeze. On my legs. And up my back. The breeze was my dress flying up to my armpits as my 3 year old found his favorite hiding place... under my dress!!! All I could think was "oh my Lord, did that just happen?!" I turned around to face the people behind me in line and the expressions on their faces confirmed that, Yes. That did just happen. The older lady behind me snickered and said, "well, that wasn't very nice!" The old men behind her just stood with their mouth gaping open. I left Sam's with alot more groceries and a little less dignity!


2. Today Jay was mowing our overgrown yard. Lennox likes to ride the mower with Jay but he always gets off when he gets "all sweaty." I was getting ready to go to a JA meeting and I saw Lennox on the back porch. His underwear was around his knees and he was sitting down squirting his foot with a squirt bottle. I thought, "how cute. He's trying to clean the grass off of his feet before he comes inside." I continued getting ready and came back through the living room to find Lennox standing in the middle of the room saying something about poopoo. I said, "Do you have to poopoo?" He said, "No. I just poopooed in the yard." I said, "you poopooed in the yard? Why?" Lennox said, "Yeah, I poopooed in the yard and then I stepped on it. But I squirted it off my poot." My thought? OH GROSS!!! Are you really standing on my living room rug with your own poop on your foot? After he took me outside and showed me the flattened poop in the yard (technically the flower bed), it was confirmed that yes, that really did happen!
   

Last night, as the sun was setting, Lennox looked out of the back window (which faces East) and he got so excited. He said, "Oh... I see pink. I see PINK! I need to get out there and see the sunset!" while he was frantically trying to unlock the backdoor. I led him out of the front door (which faces West) so he could see the sunset better. It was just the cutest moment. He was running from the front yard to the back yard, yelling about the sunset. He was saying "I see a-nudder sunset!" Then he would run to the back and say, "Look! There's a-nudder one here! God made the sunset!" He was so pumped up that he almost ran in front of Jay's truck when he drove up the driveway. Before Jay could even get the door open, Lennox was yelling and pointing and saying, "God made that sunset, daddy. God made it pink!" I was just watching him the whole time (except when he was about to get run over) and thinking how grateful I am to have him. I know that sounds lame but I can't imagine how uninteresting my days would be if he were not part of them. I can't even begin to count the times I've driven home, facing the sunset, and never even acknowledged how pretty it was or that God made it. I am always thankful when my children open my eyes to the real world!

That explains alot...

While I was trying to clean up toys yesterday in Lennox's room, he started grabbing toys from their appropriate location and yelling, "NoOOOO!!! I just NEED to make a mess! I just NEEEED a Mess!!" At least I have a good reason for my house looking like it does... Lennox NEEDS it to look that way!

Lennox - 3 years old!

How can three years have passed? I cannot and don't even want to remember my life with out the joy I get from being a mom! This boy, Lennox, is such a mess. He keeps me thinking deeper, laughing harder and loving stronger than I ever have.

My niece, Avery, was in town for Lennox's birthday so we had a little family party with the grandparents. The next day, Jay and I took the kids to the water park.

Lennox is just getting into dressing himself and dressing up. For some reason, he thinks this is his uniform: a yellow hard hat, sunglasses, the wooden stick and metal triangle stick from his Melissa & Doug band, plus 2 different shoes (preferrable 2 right shoes). He puts this get-up on all of the time and sometimes I can't help but cave and let him wear it to church or the doctor's office! ha. Why inhibit who he is? :)

He is really into puzzles. He found a jigsaw floor puzzle in his closet one day and, much to my surprise, he was able to put it together on his own! I was so proud. I guess hiding the puzzles because there are lots of pieces to make a mess with is really depriving him of brain stimulating activity! I'll have to stop that. Anyway, he's up to 20 piece jigsaws. I have definitely discovered that it is worth it to pay extra for Melissa & Doug... the cheap ones just don't fit together as nicely.

Lennox likes to wipe off my kisses but that only results in extra kisses. Gosh, when is it inappropriate to kiss your child's face off? I hope not any time soon. I don't want to be THAT mom! He likes for me to give him butterfly or butterPLY kisses. Those are the only ones he doesn't wipe off.

He is starting to describe situations but he hasn't gotten to the stage where his story gets to the point. It's more like "What did you today?" "I was in dere and I lucked (looked) at you and den I turned and I lucked at the door and it closed. Then, I lucked and I saw the floor and I turned and lucked at the box..." and on and on!! ha ha. I like to ask alot of questions just so I can hear these stories! That is, if he answers me. He is an expert ignorer. He ignores about 80% of what I ask. That's a low ball estimate too. I end up asking the same questions 5 times before I make him look at me and give me an answer. The answer usually has nothing to do with what I asked but usually is a distraction or an excuse. His answers ALWAYS begin with "because...." "Because, I need to go outside." "Because, my belly hurts." "Because, I need my daddy!"

This boy has to have the last word. Gosh, where does he get this bad behavior?? Must be his father. Last night he said, "I need some milk." I said, "you want more MILK?" "Yes, more milk." So, I gave him milk and then he argued me down that he needed "apple duce." I walked away from the table and did a few things only to come back and hear him mumbling something about "I didn't say milk. I said duce." but it was all under his breath! ha. Argumentative much?

Another 3 year old boy thing is sound effects. Everything has a sound effect. He loves to "pow. pow. shoommm. shuwsh. boom! pow." all day long. He likes to "wreck" his cars because that means there are LOTS of sound effects. He also likes to see real wrecks on the road... he says, "ooh, luck! they wrecked!" I'm trying to teach him that real wrecks are no laughing matter. Maybe year 4 will bring about empathy?

Oh, another favorite of Lennox's is traffic lights. "You had to stop on red. YOu had to stop!" I pointed out that there is also a yellow light while we were on vacation. I thought telling him yellow means slow down and get ready to stop would interest him. It did but then he cried all the way home because he "just needs a yellow light!!" Sorry man, I wish I could control the traffic lights and then you would only know green means go!

At his 3 year checkup, Lennox was 36.5" (25th percentile) and 34 lbs (75th percentile... if that's the correct weight, it is hard to recall!).

Stella - 9 Months

This post is pretty late. I actually started it on time but I couldn't finish it because all I could think about was how much Stella hates to sleep. Since she hates to sleep, I get no sleep. Therefore, I only think of sleep and dislike those who prevent me from getting any!! Ok, I don't really dislike my child but I have had a few ugly thoughts about her in the midst of a nightly battle with putting her to bed!! BUT... in the past week, night time routines have settled down so much! Going on vacation really messed her up. That wasn't her fault. Poor Girl! This is the main problem... she needs to eat dinner about 5:30 so that she can have her bottle around 7:15 and then she doesn't miss her window of drifting off to sleep between 7:22 and 7:26! That might not sound like a problem to most but when you don't get home half the time until 7, that's a problem! Thankfully (sort of), football season has started so I should be home by 5:30. What's not so great about that is that means I need to be at work by 5am. Meaning I need to get up by 3:45AM!!!?!?!?!?? BOO. So anyway, if we miss her teensy tiny window it's a battle of clawing, screaming, rubbing eyes, throwing pacifiers, head butting and Stella gets mad too! ha. Just kidding. It's all her :). Anyway, sometimes it's an hour long battle, sometimes it is 2 hours! Really, it is crazy. I do lay her down in her bed sometimes but she immediately starts howling. I can't let her do that for more than a few minutes. I just can't stand it. I'm not sure why though because she is no happier in my arms. She just fights, fights, fights.

She is so determined.... about everything, not just staying awake! If she wants something you have she WILL get her hands on it and you have to literally pry them off. She has a serious grip! In the past month, she has started really crawling, crawling really fast, pulling up on EVERYTHING, and now she thinks she can let go and stand by her lonesome! She is into everything and all over the place. Her favorite place to go is the bathroom so I'm sure she will be playing in the toilet in no time! She loves to pull up and hold on with one hand but she isn't quite sure how to let go and sit back down. Yesterday I found her under the kitchen table with one hand on the under side of the table and she was just crying, crying, crying. She didn't want to fall but she wasn't sure how to let go! so cute!

She has a few tricks. Bri showed her how to make sweet eyes and now she can do it on command! It is so stinking cute! She can give high fives and she can clap with me but not by herself. She gives sugar by leaning in and giving you a wide open mouth kiss. I hope she tones that down because she has already tried to make out with Jenson and Devin! ha. When she's on the bed, Jay taught her to fall backwards when he says "weeee!" She thinks that is so fun. She likes to play patty cake and motor boat. She also likes for me to pretend to drop her. She likes to chase balls and dump out laundry baskets or the contents of open drawers. She likes to taste each item in the laundry basket/drawer too. To watch her, you would think she was tasting to see what each item was... "yeah, that's a sock, I'll put that over here. That's a shirt, let's stack it on this side...." Anyway, because of that I try to make sure she is only emptying clean clothes baskets! Her favorite toys are whatever Lennox is playing with. I think this month we've turned the corner into sibling rivalry. Before, she wasn't much of a threat to Lennox but now that she is mobile, there has been quite a bit of kicking and pushing and slapping and stepping on toes. I watched him ever so politely squoosh her fingers under his shoe. I didn't really think he would do it, that's why I was just watching. I was wrong. He straight up stomped them into the ground!!

Stella weighed 18 lbs, 10 oz (25th) and was 28.5 inches (75th) at her 9 month checkup. Her head was 95th percentile. My kids have block heads I guess! Oh, she figured out how to put the balls in her gumball machine and push the lever to get them out. That's a whole month earlier than Lennox figured it out so she must be smart! I mean, smarter than Lennox is a near genius!! ha ha. Don't we all think that of our kids!!?!?!?!? :)

Stella loves to eat! She will eat anything you give her except avocadoes... which is cannot understand. She really likes spicy things like blackened fish and even wing sauce! I know? I hope she will continue to eat whatever I give her... unlike her big brother. She is so sweet, even when she has attitude. Even though it would be easy to lay her down and have her go to sleep, I do love that she immediately turns around and reaches for me. She does love her mama. Who can resist those chubby arms and big blue eyes? No me. She's a stinker but I'll keep her.

Poor Baby

This baby has been feeling really BAD!

Stella had to go see the doctor Saturday. She was diagnosed with Roseola. I didn't believe the doctor because Saturday night she woke up with a horrendous, seal-like bark = croup. I cursed the doctor and the $100 I spent getting her diagnosed (I am always fearful of ear infections). Today, she broke out in the rash... from Roseola. Sorry Doc!

She has been so miserable since Thursday. Her fever finally went away on Monday. She wouldn't sleep. She couldn't get comfortable. She didn't want to be left... for any reason. She didn't want to play. It was just plain sad. I hope my baby doesn't get sick again. Ever.

8 month weight - 18 lbs, 5 oz

1 until 3

In one month Lennox will THREE years old!!! WHAT? Where does the time go? He has gotten so big lately. He is not so easy to pick up and throw on the old hip anymore. I still do it. But it's a chore. I'm not sure how long you are supposed carry your child around but I feel sure I'll be doing it until he won't let me. He is my baby boy, afterall.

He has outgrown most of his 2T's, especially the shirts. I would guess he weighs close to 40 lbs. I did try to weigh him at my parent's recently. They have an old school scale, not digital. He got on and then he said to me, "now you try." I stepped on and he exclaimed, "Ooohhh, you can make it go really high!!" ha. Somehow that is just not very exciting for mommy!

He wants to have a Robot birthday party this year. Last year I debated on the Elmo party but I knew he would be totally over Elmo this year, so I went with it. It turned out that he was totally over Elmo by the time his birthday arrived. This year, I've started working on robot decorations but I'm sure he'll be over robots by the time the party rolls around. Oh well... I guess. Last year he was so into heavy equipment. All he wanted to do was play with trucks and loaders and diggers. This year he rarely plays with those things. His new favorites are his K'nex & Mr. Potato head. At any point in the day, he either has a Mr. Potato Head or K'nex in hand or he has played with them in the last 10 minutes. I really am amazed at how many times and how many way you can put a Mr. Potato Head together! Lennox likes anything that can be put together and taken apart. This week he discovered floor puzzles in his closet that had never been opened. Well, he opened them and, to my surprise, he is really good at putting them together. I guess I thought he was still too young for them... plus, maybe I just didn't want MORE toys with a million pieces. I think I just have to get over myself on that!

Lennox still loves his Buzz, the Big Buzz. He also wants a Transformer. I tried to buy him a $8 "Transformer," thinking he wouldn't care. Well, he was over it in about 2 days. He has requested a real Transformer for his birthday! His new random play toy... besides the laundry basket... a "pillow bag." Yeah, it's what most people call a pillow case. He likes to get inside the "pillow bag" and be carried around the house like a sack of potatoes! When he "can't get the head in the pillow bag," it is nothing nice. Yes, he still has that pesky temper. I didn't expect it to go away. I was hoping he would be able to control it better over time. I'm still hoping. Lately he has resorted to bodily harm. He isn't harming anyone else, just himself. Yesterday we were playing baseball in the yard. He didn't want me to show him how to hold the bat because he already knows. I threw the ball but he couldn't hit it (kind of hard to hit the ball when the bat is pointed at the ball before it's thrown... but he already knows). He banged his bat on the ground, threw it across the yard, slapped himself in the head 3 times, then almost bit a chunk out of his own arm! wow. He sat in timeout for hitting and biting himself!? That's a new one. Anyway, that's been the standard lately. Throw the toy, slap yourself in the head or face, then bite. Usually it's his own pointer finger. Crazy guy.

We took Lennox to the movie theater for the first time yesterday. We went to see Cars II. Wow, what a disappointment of a movie!! I couldn't believe that Disney would let an awesome movie like Cars be followed by THAT... boo. Cars II was boring, entirely too long, and half of the humor is geared for people who can read! Not ideal for an almost 3 year old. After it was FINALLY over, I asked Lennox if he liked the movie... I was still trying to pretend like it was a great fun. His answer: No, I don't like that movie! Ha. So much for those 2 hours and $40. At least we made a memory.

We just went outside to watch Jay light some branches on fire. Our neighbors have junked up, I mean, decorated their back yard with Christmas lights. Lennox said, "Hey look, Santa is bout to come!" ha. Not so much. Maybe it will be Christmas in July?

Every sentence of Lennox's still starts with "because." Every time I asked him "are you sure?" He says, "no I'm not sure." Which means, yes I am sure. He still won't eat most food that is good for him. I am not giving up. He does like fruit and meat. He just doesn't like many vegetables. I am going to start bargaining again... every time he tries a new food, he gets 3 chocolate chips. So far, he tasted a tomato and some roasted squash. He didn't eat them but at least they went in his mouth (for 3 seconds).

We're still working on letters. He still doesn't know them. He does like to write. He can write his first and last name... ha. SIKE. He can draw a pretty nifty circle though. He also loves doing the sticker books where you find a sticker to match the shape shown. Hopefully that is going to help with letter recognition as well.

Stella - 8 months

Stella has been busy, busy, busy this month. She had a very LONG car ride to NC for Samantha's graduation. When we got there, she decided she could sit up all by her big self AND she got 2 teeth (on the bottom)! She did so great with her teeth that I didn't even know they were there until she smiled at me. This past weekend she decided that she could go from belly crawling to sitting all by her lonesome. She also thinks she needs to have whatever anyone else is eating. If you don't give it to her as she demands (by short, high pitched screams and big round puppy dog eyes), then she will try to get out of the seat so she can grab it right out of your hand. I like a girl with determination! So far, she has eaten avocado, banana, spaghetti, squash, carrots, and bread. I tried to give her shredded cheese but she could not get down with the texture. She clamped her mouth shut and turned her head. Then, as I tried to feed her the rest of her baby food, she opened her mouth and ate it but she cried after every bite! She thinks she is a big girl now... she doesn't want that puree! I definitely think bananas are her favorite. She double fists them as soon as they hit the tray.
My sister was here this past week and I was amazed at the interaction between Stella & Amelia. They noticed each other immediately and crawled right to each other. Stella would sit and Amelia would stand and pat on her head. They shared their toys. really. They gave them back and forth to one another but, by the end of the visit, they seemed to be "taking" toys from each other instead of "sharing!" Stella would yell at Amelia and Amelia would just grin and stand up, sit down, stand up, sit down. It was so cute! I don't think I have ever seen such little babies interacting with each other. I know what you are thinking and I have to agree, they must be gifted! (just kidding ;))
Stella is still wearing some 6 month clothes and some 12 month. She's in a size 3 diaper. Her hair is still pretty sparce but the new hair is really blond. She still fights her sleep. She likes to play games with Jay and put the pacifier in his mouth and then put it in her mouth. She cries sometimes when I leave the room and I know she misses me when I'm gone. Sometimes when she sees someone she likes she grins and shivers because she just so excited! I love her sweet face. She reminds me of one of those cheap dollar store dolls with the hair etched in the plastic and big round, blue eyes and chubby cheeks. Kind of like Big Baby on Toy Story... but with both eyes working!

The Possibilities are Endless

Last night I was laying in bed with Lennox and he was flopping and squirming all around. Finally, he flipped over on his belly and spread his arms out next to him. One of them was under me so I exasperatedly said, "what are you doing?!" "I'm trying to ply," he said. "I'm trying to ply like dis... maybe my wings can pop out (like Buzz Lightyear's, I imagine)." I started giggling to myself... then, in a really sad voice, he said, "Ohhh, I can't do it!" :( I kept asking him if he knew any people who could fly but he never answered. The only answer he gave was that chickens can fly. I never told him people can't fly.

I wish I could see life through his eyes. He was literally trying to figure out how he could fly. In his world, the possibilities really are endless. I hope that as he gets older, he continues to try to figure out how to make his dreams come true and that he is not limited by what others tell him... well, maybe that is extreme. I want him to be safe. And obey the law. And his parents. But... I want his little mind and imagination to continue to flourish.

Realizations

You realize your child is deprived
... when you try to explain to him what will happen at the doctor's office and you assure him he will probably get the good medicine that tastes like bubble gum. Then your child starts crying and saying, "I don't like a bubble gun" and you realize he is almost 3 and has no idea what bubble gum is because you a) think it will be messy and b) are afraid his teeth will rot out.

You realize you have irrational fears
... when you are afraid gum will rot your child's teeth but he barely has any teeth left because he falls and chips them off every other day. Really? Who cares!?

You realize your child is growing up
... when you are reading and turn to a page with a kangaroo. You used to make a "boing, boing" sound for the kangaroo but now you find yourself explaining what a marsupial is...

You realize your child will only get sassier
... when you tell him to do something and he responds with, "Oh... what's the point?!" Then you have to explain the "point" is that I said to so get busy getting it done!! ha.

Stella - 7 months old

Almost 7 months!!

Tomorrow Stella will be 7 months old. That girl has A-T-T-I-T-U-D-E! I don't take back anything I have said about her being sweet but she has really started to develop her own opinion about how life is going to go! (where did she get that gene?!) She gets really, really ticked off when things don't go her way. I think mostly she is just frustrated. She wants to do more than her body has figured out how to do. She wants to play! She can't crawl and she can't sit up but she doesn't want to be held and she doesn't want to lay down... see the problem? She can roll and squirm to whatever she wants but that squooshes her belly and causes her to throw up. Then she likes to roll around in the throw up or continue to eat the toy that is covered in throw up... um, gross. By toy, I mean anything she can get her hands on... her toys, Lennox's toys (until they are snatched out of her hand), magazines (she ate a whole page today), and, her favorite, hangers!

Yesterday, I laid her on the floor to change her but I had to run in the other room to get some wipes. She was so mad that I laid her down that she rolled over and started banging her face on the carpet! repeatedly. Temper? check. How did I get another kid with this quick temper!?!

Last night she slept through the night for the very first time! That was 7 very LONG months... Maybe she slept so well because she ate 2 jars of baby food for dinner. She has never eaten 2 jars. Trust me, I will be shoving two jars in from now on... kidding. sort of. It seems really late to start her but she just started eating puffs. She double fists them and screams for more. Most of them get stuck in her fists or under her chin but she loves the one that actually make it to her mouth. This leads me to my new invention... the garbage disposal for bath tubs. Yes, I realize that could be highly dangerous, especially for toddlers, but I am disgusted by all of the food that ends up in my tub after Stella's bath. It would be great if I could just spray it all down the drain.

While Stella has attitude, she is still my sweetheart. She loves to get kisses and give them, unless of course she isnt in the mood for kisses, then she screams at me. She enjoys a good game of patty cake and motor boat. She loves her brother more than anything in the world. She likes to be outside. She likes to bite on her squeaky blocks. She likes to pull her headbands down and eat her bows. She likes to snuggle up close. She likes to spit and blow spit bubbles.

Stella HATES to go to sleep. When she gets really sleepy she starts taking her pacifier out and throwing it. She doesn't want to suck on it because she's sure to nod off. She pushes against whoever is holding her so she can hold her head up... when it starts to wobble from her sleepiness, she starts laughing. She squirms and cries and fusses and flops, all trying to avoid the inevitable... sleep. It's exhausting for us and I do lay her in her bed for a while to see if she will go to sleep on her own. Sometimes she does. More times, she doesn't. I am not a fan of letting her cry. I don't mind the fussing but I can't take the sad crying. So we hold her and fight her until she falls out!

Bathing Beauties...

getting her tan on...

This kid LOVES to swim... he is doing great with the floaties and sort of great without them. He jumps right in by himself, goes under water, kicks his feet, and we're working on the arm motions. I'm glad he isn't scared but I wouldn't mind if he was a little more cautious!!

Papa loves to do whatever Lennox wants to do... how many 72 year old men do you know who will still attempt a cannonball in the pool?!