twelve month love letter.

Oh boy.

Don't even get me started on this boy.  Okay, okay...get me started.  But don't expect me to stop.

He's one today.

ONE FRIGGIN' YEAR OLD!

How?  How?  How?

Time has flown by.  That annoying person that has older kids and is always saying 'enjoy it now because before you know it they will be driving, and smoking, and vandalizing the schools'.(okay, maybe that's not what they say exactly, but that's how I take it).  But it's true, time is a flying...and I think I saw spray paint under Carson's fingernails the other day.

Carsie Cakes, our little mister, our sweet bruddy...

my how we love you.  Let me count the ways.

You wake up with THE biggest grin on your face in the morning, at least for wake up number two (wake up number one, at about 5:30am, you're much less vibrant...as am I.  But you're loud, and you grab your bottsie like a crack addict.  Then all is well).  Where was I?  Oh yes, your cuteness.  You yell Mama in your sweet little raspy voice, with your sleepy eyes, and disheveled little blonde hairs, in the very corner of the crib, jumping up and down in your sleeper jammies, and peering over the top of the the crib on your tip toes so you can see who is coming through the door...insert your giant smile...yep, it's pretty much a day maker.  You love your crib, with your blankies and your donkey, you love your naps, and you turn into a pumpkin at 7pm...on the dot.  You like a schedule.  And I like that.

You are quite the eater.  You will eat anything we give you.  Of course, precisely half of all you have ends up in your lap, or on the floor.  And boy do you love to feed yourself, and by love I mean if you're not the one doing it, you lose your mind.  You have the cutest little pinchers, and pick up your food so delicately, right before you shove said food into your mouth.  You are always a total mess two bites into mealtime.

You started walking.  Yep, that's right.  You're on the move (0nly beat your sis by 6 months...but who's counting).  You had your debut two Saturdays ago at the REI play area.  Big show off.  I about lost my mind.  I'm pretty sure I did a double axle and then had your Dad overhead paged so he could see it too...and help control me, as I was swinging from the big plastic tree.  Get used to it...you've got a long life of embarrassment ahead of you.  You started out walking like the cutest little sideways crab...which transformed to the zombie walk...and now you're a full fledged Frankensteiner.  We call you 'Frank'.  Creative, I know. 

You have started to say quite a few words.

Mama, Dada, What's that (Wass sat), Thank you (Day Doo), Bye-Bye, and Baba (which you use for Bottsie and your main man).  For the record, the first word you said...drumroll please...was Dada.

You and I came downstairs, you pointed right at him, and said "Dada".  Picture another double axle, but throw in a triple sow cow.

Mama, was a close second.  You pulled your little self right up my leg, looked at me, and said the most bittersweet words a mom is ever to hear...my name.  After having Hads, I promised I would never teach another kid to speak.  And like everything with motherhood, I forgot my plan...because you kids melt my heart. 

Oh buddy, I could talk about you for days.  How much you love to make messes.  How much you love to climb up our legs and throw your arms in the air so we pick you up.  How cute your little goodbye wave is.  How you have seven teeth, and were a hot mess with every single one.  How this sometimes makes us call you a 'bad baby'.  How you love to point at everything with your teeny tiny pointer finger.  How you have fallen in a pool and down the stairs twice (see 'bad baby' reference).  How you hate to snuggle, except before bedtime.  How you instantly calm when I sing to you.  How insanely happy that makes me.  How you 'do' first, and 'think' second.  How you are the antithesis of your sister.  In every way.  I LOVE how completely opposite you two are.  How you fit perfectly right on my hip.  How you still have your birth marks.  How much I just absolutely enjoy you.  From my head to my toes...and, more importantly, from your head to your toes.

You are my little man.  Who knew I could love a stinky, drooly, ole' boy so much.  But good god, have you captured my heart.  So much so, that at times, it feels like it's going to explode.  Especially when you flash that 1,000 watt smile.

You do something a little different to me Cars.  You see, deep in my soul, I will forever miss the babe we didn't get to meet.  But if we met him, well then, we wouldn't have you.  And just like your sis will always be the babe that 'saved me', well, you are the babe that makes me truly grateful for the worst days of my life.   Because plainly and simply, life without you is quite unimaginable.  

Thanks for joining the party pal.  I couldn't be more thankful or more in love with my little one year old blockhead.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!

xoxo

Your insanely giddy Mama

i need one at home.

If they could sit in this puppy while I blogged...I would have it made.

Although, this thing would be a total bitch to get up the stairs. 

Hell, it's a total bitch to maneuver through the damn produce aisle.

I have posts that I haven't finished from September.

Oy vey.

Be prepared.

My little blog is getting ready to vomit very soon.

Can I get a clean up on aisle 7?

his disneyland.

You should see this kid 'b-line' when we open the fridge. 

And you should see him lose his little mind when we close it.

drool much?

Third shirt of the day.

Boys are gross.

her disneyland.

She asks me every single day if she can paint.

Every. single. day.

She also asks me for gum every five minutes, and for warm milk, and for a snack, and another snack, and if she can watch TV, and to color with her...

Okay focus.

And the other day I caved.

Because she's pretty stinkin' adorable, and insistent, and slightly annoying.

And this kept her busy for at least an hour.

AN HOUR!

You know what a mom can do with an hour of free time?

We can build Rome.

Me:  'Hads what's your most favorite day in the world.  Christmas, Halloween, or a painting day?'

Hads:  'My first favorite is a painting day, then Christmas, then Wednesdays and Fridays (the days she goes to Zaide's and Nana's), then Halloween'. 

Nana & Zaide's, she likes you more than candy.

That's huge.

Hadley...you're my favorite.

(no worries, Carsie can't read yet).

a fighter.

Mom.

You gave those Northshore teachers a voice. 

You gave them hope. 

And sometimes that's enough to make all the difference.

Trust me...I see it change lives daily.

(and you know our rules about 'trust me's').

You are our champion.

And there is never, ever, a day we are not proud of you.

I mean seriously, when you look at this picture...

you truly have everything you could ever need or want in the world.

Schoolboard, Shmoolboard.

xoxo.

remember when.

Came across some pics when Carsie was just learning to army crawl.

Life was easier.

I think I liked him better then.

nutcracker bound?

After three sessions of ballet...

all she can do is curtsy.

But trust me.

It would make the Queen Mum quite proud.

cinch up that belt.

When you're a parent you worry about any and everything.

I find myself fretting over the teenage years.

A lot. 

And we are not even close to them.

(8 years, 5 months, and 29 days away).

I am scared to death of my kids 'doing it'.

Because the reality is...someday they probably will.

And these are the sorts of things that keep me up at night.

I have a little issue with control.

But then I come across a picture like this and I smile.

We're going to be just fine.

it's been done before.

Kind of a kiddos right of passage.

Don't you think?

all american girl.

Hadley LOVES any and everything American Girl. 

Only because 'big' cousin Lauren has a doll of her own.

She also LOVES Justin Beiber, Selena Gomez, and Taylor Swift.

Thanks for nothing Lauren.

So, the other day, on a whim, when she woke up from her nap I asked her if she wanted to go to the American Girl store. 

She did a back-flip.

We went.

She looked, she touched, she acted as a 'foster mom', she drank tea, she ate crumpets.

She is now obsessed.  And has dog-eared the hell out of her American Girl catalog. 

She has big plans for Santa this year.
And we have great ammo to make her behave.

your friendly reminder.

Don't forget.

Vote for Zaide...

Or the kid gets it.

B-Z DAVIS NORTHSHORE SCHOOL BOARD.

that time of year again.

Movember.

Go here to see Ryan as Mr. Walter White's doppelganger.

Seriously.

It's creepy.

But all for a good cause.

And an entire month of abstinence.

boo.

Cheater.

A nurse and a chicken.

Carsie's costume was a tad small (3-6 months).

But all the cousins have worn it...it's a right of halloween passage.

Lo literally licking candy off the counter.

May nobodies teeth rot...

Good luck.

all in a day.

The morning started off like this... 

Heather & Colie stopped by for a little visit. 

We chatted about how uncomfortable Heathie was, how big her face was, how little sleep a human being can actually live on. 

And how she only had two more days until baby arrived because she was scheduled to be induced on Tuesday November 1st. 

I said 'Great.  I have Tuesday off'. 

We talked about Kim Kardashian. 

We talked about Hadley and Cole getting married.

We talked about throw pillows.

You know, we just hit the major stuff.

Then I get a text...a mere four hours later,

that she is in the hospital about to have baby boy #2.

We didn't talk about that.

I don't ever think I have seen Heather more beautiful...or more tired. 

She was a champ (as always) and was only in labor about 3 hours, pushed a few times, and there he was...

All 7lbs and 3oz's of him.

CASE 'no name' CONNIFF

October 30th, 2011

@ 8:52pm

Welcome to the world little pal.

You are one lucky little bean and cute as a button...a Benjamin Button.

Geeze, just when I thought my heart couldn't grow any bigger...

xoxo