First World Problems

Kimber was very opinionated about who should drive one night last week and we thought it was weird so we asked him why he wanted mama to drive versus papa.  His response, "when mama drives I have more room for my legs".

Willie and I looked at each other and cracked right up.  I mean in other parts of the world 3-year olds find themselves responsible for working the fields or carrying water for hours on end. 


His biggest problem at that moment,

  
                                                                breathing room for his little legs.

Gardens and Guns

Spring is finally raising its little head and boy have we been enjoying the nicer days.

A few weeks ago we went on a shooting adventure to Tennessee.  Matthew is getting quite proficient with his 22 on his own.  Just a few months ago he needed help steadying it but is getting the strength and agility to do it all alone now.

We pulled up some gorgeous but overgrown sunlight hogging forsythia bushes in the fall and added another big bed to our garden area. 

 Before....

After


I will miss their bright yellow giant display in the spring.



This past weekend we did a final till, layed down newspaper (for weed control) and  planted broccoli, brussel sprouts, onions, garlic, carrots and radishes.   If I can just keep Mauser out of it I will be a happy camper.

 We also tried something new this year in lieu of the seed starting trays.  We always had a hard time hardening our seed starts off outside so I read that a milk carton, left outside from initial seeding until transplant time is the perfect little greenhouse so over the past few months we saved all our milk cartons and have a nice little collection of mini-greenhouses happily protecting our seeds. 

Promises, promises

Matthew is certainly maturing these days and lately my heart has the moments of desperation when I really just want to stop EVERYTHING and focus on him.

"Mama, can you come have warm snuggle time with me"?

"I love you more Mama, way more".

I made him promise me today that he would always let me snuggle him, even when he was 20, to which he replied, "and even when I am 7".

I know, the days of him wanting to walk 10 feet in front of me in public are coming but for today I am thankful for my snuggly little man.

Tooth Loss

 So Matt lost his first tooth today!  I was so not ready for this.  I totally had his first loose tooth scenario all worked out in my little brain and it included weeks of talking about it and him wiggling it and stressing about it but no.  Today, about 4 both boys got themselves an apple out of the fridge and were sitting at the table chowing down.  Kimber tattled on Matthew saying that he took too big of a bite and was choking.  Willie got over there first and found blood, an hysterical Matthew and one wee little tooth out of its socket. 

It took a bit of talking and comforting from Dad before Matt realized this tooth loss equated to super coolness...and a visit from a mythical creature.

 

After baths tonight I whipped up a monster tooth fairy pillow for the little tooth and guess who went to bed without a fuss?

On 3

Before becoming a parent all I heard about was the lack of sleep associated with parenting and the terrible twos.

SLEEP

My dumb self thought the lack of sleep thing was for a few months, I now realize it is truly a long term situation.  I am quite convinced at this point that I will never again sleep like I did before I had children.  I mean who truly sleeps as carefree as they did before these little beings that we grew in our bodies are out in the crazy big scary world????  I am not sure them being 20 is any better than them being 3?


TERRIBLE WHAT?

For us, 2 was a breeze with Matthew and Kimber both. 

3...well that is a whole other story.  The 3rd year was pretty hard with Matthew, granted we had a one year old at the time as well but I distinctly remember thinking WOW, really, is this what 3 is supposed to be like.  The answer is a resounding YES.  Kimber is now a few months into 3 and holy guacamole, he challenges my patience, my parenting and my general sanity every single day.  He is the sunggliest guy on the planet one minute and a defiant little stinker the next.   I know, I know, I will miss these days some day, but today is NOT that day.

My baby is 3, really?

So Kimber Grey, you turn 3 today.  It does not seem at all possible that my lastborn is 3 whole years old.  The time has flown but every single day you make me smile...and a little scared.

Your favorite color is pink, mostly because you associate pink with strawberry flavors but your little buddies Natalie and Lyla help in this area too.

You love "chookies", well mostly the raw dough.

Caillou and Captain America are your most favorite characters at the moment.

You are so confident when telling me your ideas.  Often times I tell you the plan and you look at me and suggest an alternate plan with such calm confidence it is a bit surprising.

You are a snuggler, every morning you need snuggle time with mama or papa to get your day off to a good start.

You love swimming and are quite good at it.

You, along with Matthew love pretending.  Just yesterday you guys packed up your backpacks and went on a hike, built a (fireless) campfire, and you were elected Santa and Matthew was a reindeer pulling you around by a rope.  You love "cooking" with your Play-Doh and doing crafts.

 You are my biscuit making buddy.  You know just which bowl and pan we use and can get them out.  You are getting good at cutting in the shortening.  Your future wife will love me....or hate me?

 

You are starting to ride your big bike and keep telling me your are balancing and don't need your training wheels.

You have told me multiple times that you are going to have a motorcycle when you grow up, that and the fact that you are going to be a cowboy.  I feel compelled to tell you that you might want to decide on a more lucrative profession if you want a nice motorcycle....as much as I cringe at the idea of you ever riding one of those dangerous machines.

You are still not a sleeper.  Never really have been so I am not surprised.  We have finally weaned you off having to hold my hair to fall asleep.

You have been trying to give up your nap for months and many days you do but boy, putting you in the car anytime after 4 is a surefire way to make you cash out.

You are pretty good at most of your colors.  You can count to ten in English, Spanish and German.

You love balloons, bubbles and trains.

For being as dominant as you are you willingly follow around some of your little girl buddies and do whatever they want you to.

You love playing outside, especially planting things or digging in the sandbox.  You ask the name of every plant and can remember a lot of them like rosemary, elephant ears and lambs ear.

You keep telling me are going to be 4 next.....don't rush it little buddy!

You have been potty trained a full year and many days you wake up dry even though I make you wear a pull-up at night.  I have been telling you that once you turn 3 we can try going to bed without a pull-up.  Here goes!

We love you immensely little buddy and you have certainly brought a spark to our little family. 

I shoot, Papa

We recently took the boys on their first, of likely many, shooting adventures.  Some friends of our have an awesome piece of land not far from us that is totally decked out for shooting.  We all had a blast and the boys keep asking to do that again.  We did learn that play-doh and ammo do not mix, another life lesson we would have missed out on if it weren't for our little guys!

Checking it out

Target

K-Safe and Sound

They we SO READY to get started.

Such seriousness from my mini-me.

22 rounds - prior to the play dough addition.

Happy 4th Matthew

Oh my little Matthew, today you turn 4.  I dreamed about you for YEARS, you  know the funny thing, you have and continue to exceed my expectations.

You went from this....

to this

WAY TOO FAST!

Time has flown and you are so very thrilled to be 4, while I cannot say that we are totally ready for 4 year old in the house.......here we go.

It's official, my firstborn baby is rapidly transforming into a little boy, stinky feet and all.  Your cute little round head gets more angular every day, you are starting to finally get a little taller, I swear you need a haircut monthly your hair grows so fast.  I am proud of the little boy your are becoming...well...most of the time.


You are an extremely loving and touchy feely guy.  You still need and ask for me to rock with you daily.  I cherish these moments and know just how fleeting they are.  You randomly hug and kiss us..which makes me think we might be doing something right.  You are becoming a good little helper and do a good job at your chores, which include putting up clean underwear, feeding Muppet, matching socks and picking up toys.  You are also learning to make beds, water plants and bring in groceries.  


You have an opinion more often than I would like and can get quite inflamed when my opinion/instructions differ from your master plan.  Time out is pretty effective with you but you also respect the wooden spoon.  You lack patience with yourself which is not fun to watch but boy do we feel your pain. 


You love to pretend.  Most of your pretending revolves around going hiking, building a project, being a super hero or cooking.  You also love to help cook.  We make homemade biscuits pretty often and I am convinced within another year you will be able to do it on your own.  You enjoy drawing, playing with play-doh and making random crafts.




You LOVE peanut butter.  You like strawberries, grapes, Cheetos, ice cream, chocolate, risotto, cottage cheese, yogurt, frosted flakes, cheese, ham and noodles.  You are still not a big eater but you seem to be growing on pace.

You love your friends...even though they are almost ALL GIRLS.  You have certainly worn your fair share of princess dresses and Super Girl costumes. I can elicit good behavior from you by threatening to call and tell them they cannot come over because you are having a bad attitude.

Despite the fact that most of your buddies are girls, you are all boy.  Trains, trucks, tractors, baseball, soccer and hiking are some of your loves.  It seems Papa is not allowed to work on a project without your assistance.  Band aids, holy moley apparently I should have started stocking up on these puppies long ago.  You can go through the band aids my buddy, not that their application slows you down any.

Kimber and Muppet the dog are your best pals..but also the ones you love to antagonize most.  I watch the sweetest moments pass between you two brothers, like holding hands sometimes when you go to sleep.  It makes all of the work-dirt-lack of sleep so worth it.  You guys can also fight and Kimber is starting to hold his own with you, suffice it to say, you are not impressed with this development.

 You love love love climbing trees...or shrubs...or well just about anything!

You are really into Super Heroes right now with Iron Man, Spider Man and Captain America being your favorites.  I amazed you a few mornings ago by whipping up not one but two cardboard Captain America shields for you and Kimber to play with.  I am quickly learning the names of all these Supers, I keep wondering if there is a Cliff Notes edition so I can study up.  You ride in the jogging stroller through the neighborhood a lot and shoot anything that moves with spider webs, I feel crazy safe with you around my little hero.

You decided you wanted to go bowling for your birthday and had an awesome time.  I am a little surprised we did not get booted from the bowling alley with you and your buddies rolling multiple balls down the lanes simultaneously.  The poor bowling alley lady certainly worked for her money last night.

 All in all I think your day turned out great.  You had PB&J for breakfast and lunch (as per your request) and two cupcakes, you were thrilled...and really whooped!   Happy 4th!!

I love you little buddy and am so blessed to share my life with you.