Good Morning

Dear Ty,

Most mornings you wake up so happy. I love going into your room and seeing your sleepy little head pop out of the covers. When I or Daddy say good morning, you always answer with a big 'ole (sleepy-eyed) grin and I love it!!

Love,

Mommy

Rolling Over continued...

Dear Ty,

I've been sitting here watching you try to roll over from back to belly and you finally did it!! You were working so hard and once you rolled that tuba-ruba over, you looked over at me and Noelle and gave us the biggest, sweetest smile. Momma's so proud of you. In the span of about 10 minutes you managed to roll all around the living room. We're going to have to find a bigger blanket because drool + dog hair = gross.

Love,
Mommy

A tooth? Already?!

Dear Ty,

The amount of drool coming from your mouth is ridiculous. You are chewing on everything: your crib slats, your fists, your toys, your high chair, your main source of food. Everything. I took a look inside and I think I can see a little tooth bud on your bottom left. Can you really be getting a tooth already? You're not even 5 months yet! After watching you chomp down on ice cubes wrapped in a cold washcloth to the point where your little lips and cheeks were red, I decided to break out the Tylenol and Motrin and drug you up for the night. I hope you sleep well and I'll be checking that tooth first thing in the morning.

I love you little man,
Mommy

Father's Day

As I sit down to write this post, I'm taken back to the summer of '02 and a conversation I had with Jeremy. It was before we started dating and was one of those late night college conversations, sans alcohol, that last all night and create a bond that you'll keep with you forever. We were sitting on the porch of "The Maze" and dawn was just about to break. The morning birds, as I called them, were just waking up. We somehow had gotten on the topic of family and Jeremy started talking about his little brothers. He spoke so passionately about them, about his hopes and dreams for them, and I saw a completely new side to him. Jeremy probably doesn't remember that conversation, but that night I started to fall for him and I knew I had found someone who was special.

You see, my parents divorced when I was little and I haven't had much of a relationship with my Father. Growing up, it was minimal at best. And it's been non-existent for the last three years. My mom has done a great job of providing all the love, support, and encouragement that he didn't care to give. I think I turned out alright considering that he didn't play much of a role in my life. Because of all of this, I made a vow to myself that no matter what, one of the top qualities of my future husband was that he had to be a great dad.


Fast forward 7 years later and here we are. Noelle is a complete Daddy's girl and I love it. I love how she adores him so fully and whole-heartily. I love how he is a nervous wreck about her first date and she is only 2.5 years old. I love that every time he says goodnight or goodbye, she has to give him a kiss, then an eskimo kiss, then a squeezer.


I love that Jeremy is counting down the days until he can teach Ty how to throw and catch. I love how he sings to him and can get him to laugh at any time of day. I love how he can get Ty to sleep, no matter what, once he finds that once certain spot on Daddy's chest.

Watching my husband love our kids is the most precious thing.

And I'm at peace knowing that our kids will grow up with nothing but wonderful, meaningful, and beautiful memories.

I know it now and I knew it 7 years ago, he is the perfect dad.

What a Jerk

So, the last week should have been an easy one for me seeing as school is out and I'm not committed to the whole teaching gig for 8 periods a day. But, I've been racing around doing some really.cool.stuff for work. I was out of town last week presenting to failing schools up in Chicago about how to turn their schools into an environment focused on student learning. Yes, that's right, I was getting PAID to tell the story of what I do in our department and at our school. The rat race continues this week as I have the privilege of attending an awesome, week-long conference at the U of I about how to improve my teaching, as well as how to bring ideas to the staff to help them grow professionally. It's totally invigorating and exhausting at the same time. To top off the race, XC started bright and early this morning at 6 am, meaning I'm up at 4:45 to pump, get stuff ready, etc, etc.

So, needless to say, I'm pretty worn out (not that that is an excuse at all). I'm sitting at dinner tonight, Jeremy's out of town for work, Ty is screaming and is inconsolable and Noelle is refusing to eat and adding a nice mantra-like whining about wanting desert NOW. And I snapped and yelled at her to stop whining and eat her dinner. Not screaming-yell, but loud enough that I clearly hurt her feelings and she burst into tears. Of course I felt horrible.

What a complete ass. Who yells at a little kid?

I felt SO BAD and the whole time she is just bawling looking at me with her sad-hurt-feeling eyes. Now, mind you, she gets into trouble before, I'm not saying it's all rainbows and butterflies around here. But I've never spoken to her in such a harsh and thoughtless tone. It's a lesson learned for sure and no matter how tired or crabby I am, I never plan on making her feel like that again. I got her calmed down and apologized a thousand times, with bunch of hugs and kisses, and a popsicle for good measure.

So to my little sweet girl: Mama's sorry and I love you more, most, infinity!

Out of Town

Dear Noelle and Ty,
Tomorrow I am leaving to go up to Chicago to do a presentation for work and I'm just dreading being away from you guys for 2 whole days. I have milk stock piled, clothes layed out, notes for dad and a bunch of other things in place so things run smoothly while I'm gone, but I'm still dreading being apart from the family. I know your Daddy will do a great job and will make sure everything is all right. I promise I'll call and kiss you both goodnite. Be good for Daddy and I'll be back before you know it! I miss you already!!

Love you,
Mommy

There was one in the bed...

...and the little one said roll over, roll over!! Yes, my little guy, you have finally learned how to roll over! All the hard work has finally paid off and you can now roll tummy to back. You seem to think it's very funny because you laugh everytime you do it. You laugh the hardest in the middle of the night. Daddy and I don't know what to do with you because you can't stop rolling over once you wake up at night. It sucks not being able to put you right down, but it's so funny watching you do your new trick complete with your cute little giggles. Hopefully you'll get it out of your system soon. Between your growth spurt and constantly rolling over, our nights are getting just a taaaaad too long if you know what I mean.... :-)

I love you little guy,

Mommy

4 Months

Dear Ty,

Today you are 4 months. We went to the doctor and you had two shots, but didn't really cry as much as I thought you would. You weighed 15 lbs, 2 oz and were 25.5 inches long. In other words, you are HUGE. Even your little toes are huge. They are seriously an inch long. AN INCH. It's almost kinda of odd looking. You love to have me and Daddy sing to you...you usually end up laughing your little butt off. Your favorite tune today is "Wind Beneath My Wings". Odd choice, but I like it :-) You are this close to rolling over. Your little arm keeps getting in the way and you haven't figured out how to tuck it in yet. You love to watch T.V. any time it's on and I'm going to try to get a pic of you watching it soon. You have a very intent stare and seemd to really like baseball (along with your Colby-crazed sister, but that's a story for another post.) You also like to stand in your exer-saucer, but we've had a few blow-outs in there, so Daddy and I are trying to figure out where the problem is. Daddy thinks it's faulty diaper attaching, but I'm thinking you are ready for the next size diapers, but you can't be in SIZE 3 already...can you??? You love your baths but are almost too long for the baby tub and will be venturing into the big boy tub soon. Other news...you've been sleeping in your cirb lately and usually sleep through the night. However, your recent growth spurt has you up eating every 3 hours and we're hoping it's over soon!! I just can't believe that you've been in the family for 4 months now. Where does the time go? Well, you are fussing, ready to eat, so I'll wrap things up. Keep on being my sweet little beautiful boy!

I love you,

Mommy

Catching up!

Dear Noelle,

Wow, we've had a super busy last two weeks!! I don't know how other mommies can spend all the time on the computer blogging, face-booking, etc. I can't seem to find any time to update! Well, here's a rundown of the last two weeks:

You ran in your very first race on Memorial Day, May 25th. We were up in Chicago and you looked so cute in your running outfit! You were in the 2-3 year old group and came in fifth place. I was so proud of you and you were pretty excited about your ribbon! Uncle Dave and I ran in the 5K, and Grandma came to watch everyone. We had a blast are you haven't stopped talking about going to "Ca-go".

You also are now POTTY TRAINED!!! We officially put you in undies on Thursday, May 28th and you haven't had any diapers on since. You are such a big girl! I can't believe how easy the whole process was. You've been going #2 for about a month, but weren't quite ready to go #1 on demand. I think you had to wait until you knew "the feeling" of #1 coming. You also had been waking up dry from naps and bedtime, so I knew you were ready. I realize that by bragging how easy this was, I'm jinxing myself and your brother will be in diapers until he's 4, but I'm gonna brag anyways!! You are just too smart.

Of course, this also meant that you needed to be put into the big girl bed. We wanted to make sure you had easy access to your bathroom if duty called in the middle of the night. So, we made a big trip out of getting new covers and Daddy converted your crib to the big girl bed. You LOVED it. You spent a lot of time in there the first few days we had it up. You felt so special with your new covers and pillow and you should- you ARE special. Here are some pre and post bed pics:

LAST PICTURE IN CRIB

FIRST PIC IN NEW BED

It must have been all the changes going on because when I put you in the new bed and tucked you in, I was almost in tears! You'll come to find out, Ms. Noelle, that I'm not too sentimental. I don't save your birthday cards every year or drawing that you make (sorry, I do love them, just don't feel the need to have all the clutter!!). But something about both potty training and the new bed just hit home for me. You are growing up. You are learning so much and have such a personality that it makes me sad you won't stay little forever. You're getting more independent and outspoken and I love every minute of it. I'm so proud of you and am looking forward to your next big milestone!

Love,

Mommy