A Bean with Many Questions

Most of them the same........

This age is so funny. Rory is so perceptive, notices everything and wants answers to all questions.

My favorite string of interrogation goes a little like this:

Rory: where daddee go?

Me: he went to work.

Rory: ohh, oooootayyy

Rory: mom. Mama. Where daddee go?

Me: he's at work sweetie

Rory: oh! Ooooootayyyy

Rory: where daddee go? (Hands face up and shrugged)

Me: (laughing) he's at work doodlebug

Rory: OH! OOOOOOTAYYYYY! (giggles)

Man of the House

Derek had to go out of town last night on business and before he left he asked Van to be a big boy for mommy. We had dinner at Mimi & Papa's house and when we got home Van was such a little helper. 

He unbuckled his sissy, packed up his bookbag with both their Bobbies and sippy cups. When I tried to help him out of the car he said, "no mommy. I got it."

Then when we got in the house he unpacked his bookbag by putting both Boobies and sippy cups in our bedroom, one on each of the side tables and after that he took the bookbag into their room and started placing all the dirty clothes in the hamper. 

When I said Van, thank you so much. You don't have to do that. He said, "mommy it's ok. You don't have to do everything by yourself."

I am so proud of him and love him so much I think my heart may burst.

Bedtime Routines Are Always Changing

Sometimes it's because of teething, or a cold. This time it was the loss of our sweet fur baby Hurley Monster and a week long vacation at the beach. They happened to collide on the same day and it's just hasn't been the same since we've been back.

I want to write more about Hurley later, when the pain is less raw and I can maybe get through the post without sobbing so hard my eyes puff up and I can't see. Right now, we are just taking it day by day. We all miss him like crazy and Van asks everyday when Hurley is going to come back down, or what does Jesus look like or when we will go live with Jesus so we can see Hurley. (See tears welling up already.)

So, we've reverted back to laying with each of our babes until they fall asleep. Bedtime has never been my favorite time of day but one of my favorite moments happens at bedtime. And the only chance you get to savor this moment is when you are lying in bed with your child, he is curled up next to you, holding your hand in his, right under his chin and against his heart. You can feel his heartbeat and remember all those visits to your midwife, when he was growing inside you, to hear that incredible sound. His other hand is holding a corner of his Bobby (blanket), he likes the corner with the tag and he has twisted that corner perfectly so he can rub it against his ear as he settles in to drift to sleep. This is the same movement his daddy made with his lovey when he was a baby and it's a trademark. I take a deep breath and take in his sweet boy smell. It's summer so he smells like his shampoo but that just been outside playing smell never seems to leave him.

He's mine and I am his. And in this moment I never want to give up this bedtime routine. 

Earlier in the evening before it was just him and me; it was me, him and Rory. Derek went to the baseball game with friends so I was lying with them both and hoping they would fall asleep together. That obviously didn't happen, but before I had to take her into her room, they were lying next to each other just giggling and talking and as much as I tried telling them, "it's time for bed now." "We are going to stop talking now." "I will separate you if you both do not hush." I had to stop for a moment and just watch them. Van had turned his back to Rory to keep from talking to her and she started rubbing his back saying, "big brubber.........big brubber.......big brubber niiiiiiiice...." Van couldn't take it anymore and started giggling then turned back around to her to kiss and hug her.

Their love is so big and so pure for each other. It's not to say that they don't get upset at each other. At any given moment Rory will cry because Van has taken "her", really his toy away from her or Van is frustrated because Rory has knocked down his blocks but then minutes later they are hugging and playing so nicely. It makes my heart swell with happiness. And I pray that they are always this close.

Rory has gotten very tricky at bedtime. We used to be able to go through our routine of all sitting together, reading books, drinking our milk and saying our prayers then she and I would say goodnight to daddy and Van, go into her room, I'd sing her her lullaby and place her in the crib, say "i love you. goodnight bean." She would say, "wuve you. night". And that was that.

But lately, she has been crying so hard for me after I put her down that she will gag herself and throw up everywhere. It is not a little spit up either. It is full on stomach emptying projectile vomit. GROSS. I've had to remove her bumper and crib skirt so many times to get cleaned that they are just not going back on anymore. And it's to the point now that either letting her stay up a little longer or laying with her (like we already do with Van) is just ten times easier than cleaning up vomit off her, her crib, blankets and stuffed animals, the rug, the hardwoods, the walls.........you get the picture.....

She is at that funny and adorable (just not when trying to get her to sleep ) stage where she is really talking and she LOVES to hear herself talk so she has become quite the chatterbox. As I lay with her she is going on and on about everyone in between sips of her milk, in between pointing out every facial feature on my face and then kissing them. I know she's about to crash when she abruptly stops talking, turns into me and curls her hands up under chin. Then she is so asleep that when I pick her up to transfer her to her crib, all her limbs will just fall in every direction if I do not hold her tightly against my chest. (Try doing that in the dark, tangled up in sheets!)

So looking on the bright side, even though I don't get to eat dinner until (what time is it?) 9:00 pm and my stomach is growling and sometimes I fall asleep with one of my sweet children so I never eat or get to spend a little time with my wonderful husband; I know it will not be like this forever and one day I will look back at these precious, fleeting moments with the two best parts of me and I will want to snuggle them in close, smell their baby/toddler smells, feel their little hearts beating as they safely drift to sleep. 

These are the moments that I thank God every day for. These are the moments, the reasons I started this blog in the first place. The reason I need to make this blog a bigger priority. Life is short, love hard and don't blink.

Van says...........

Today was such a great day. We spontaneously met an old friend at Freedom Park for a picnic lunch and play date. It was not only great to see my friend and her sweet boy but the kids were in such great spirits and we ended up running into a couple other friends too.

A successful park day finishes like this: 

While Rory took her nap Van and I enjoyed our leftover froyo from yesterday on the back deck, in the sun. (A treat after his haircut yesterday.)

Which by the way he was so happy with. Thank you Sara. I can't tell you how happy it made me to see him so excited. He is obsessed with the fact that he now looks like Jake (from the Neverland Pirates).

On the deck Van turns to me and says, "having Cherry Berry on a hot day is the best."

Then later as we are getting in the car, "mommy, you are the BEST mommy."

To hear those words of appreciation from my sweet boy I honestly have no words. It truly makes my heart so full. 

I am beyond thankful for days like today. 

A little March Madness

This time every year we usually head to Bald Head Island with our friends but this year we decided to visit them in Wilmington instead and do some fun things with the kids. 

We took the minis to this new park that is completely different from any parks we have here in Charlotte. It was wheelchair accessible and had several designs for children who are unable to use their legs. All four kids had a blast running around and I'm sure they thought it was great that both mommy and daddy were there!

Friday night we got a sitter and had ourselves a little double date! We went to The Bridge Tender for dinner then 1900 for drinks. Apparently Ryan Phillippe had just been to 1900 a couple nights before us!

Our How I Met Your Mother shot

my sweet husband makes me roses out of napkins

These four kiddos play so well together and this trip has me super excited for our Annual Utsey/Kinlaw Fourth of July trip! Haley texted me before we arrived "I just bought 2.5 gallons of milk. We used to buy that much booze." I about died walking out of yoga. These weekends have really changed! 

lunchtime

why hello there Finley

a little wagon ride to get out of the house

duck watching

Next stop: lunch at Provisions Company in Southport and a little ferry ride over to Fort Fisher to check out the Aquarium. 

boat watching

my happiness in my happy place - what life is all about

Grey and Haley, thank you for a wonderful weekend as always. They go by so fast but we look forward to seeing you again in two months!!! We love you all and our time together. Spending time with you is so good for our souls.

The Stomach Bug

I will spare you all the gory details and only say this; the darn stomach bug claimed three victims in our house last weekend. I was fortunate to not get it but I had a sinus infection so I was still sick.

Rory caught it first, then like dominoes Van then Derek came down with it. It lasted about 24 hours. 24 hours of pitifulness. I wish that I could have taken it away from each of them.

Before it hit, Derek and I went to a wonderful event for The Corners Society with a lot of our friends. I had just lost my voice (should have been my first sign of a sinus infection) so I could not really talk but it was still A LOT of fun. So nice to get dressed up and have an evening with my handsome hubby, all the while supporting a wonderful cause. My parents watched the kids for us and I said they could stay up as late as Nana & Papa let them so they had a great night getting spoiled.

two of my best friends. i LOVE these ladies. 

i found this on my phone and thought it captured the night perfectly for us 

I wish that I could say after a lovely evening we had a great night's rest but that was not the case. Sometime in the middle of the night we changed all three beds in the matter of 10 minutes. NOT FUN. And that was just the beginning!

the only photo i took while we were in the thick of it. rory was so concerned with van not feeling well. he was not himself and she just wanted to play

on the mend, letting it all hang out

so happy they have each other to lean on

By Tuesday night we were back to normal and back to our silly selves.

rory's new "smile" face when you want to take her picture. cracks me up!

cheese faces

I know I am not alone in saying this but all this cold weather and sicknesses have me wishing, hoping, and praying that Spring comes quickly. We have our annual March Madness trip next weekend and I can't wait to see the beach!

i hope all this is in our near future

All About Rory

Poor Bean hasn't had an update in 7 months!

I think I say this about every age but this stage is one of my favorites. Rory is becoming more and more independent, learning to talk, and getting into everything!

She is a little sponge.

Get yourself ready for a photo overload.

One Year Well Visit:
30" (66%)
22 lb 3 oz (76%)

ready to open presents christmas morning

thanksgiving snack

playing on the stairs with mimi "telling mimi to lay down on a step then laughing hysterically when mimi pops up and says boo"

"be so happy that when others look at you they become happy too"

napping on nana

watching "oons" with van

Christmas Eve with Nana, Papa, Van, Mason and Cole (hard to believe there will be two more in this picture next year!!)

ankle biters

upset after a panthers loss

christmas eve silliness

watching despicable me 2 and eating popcorn on christmas day in her new chair

trampoline fun with the neighborhood boys who all treat her like their little sister

photo op with her godmother Erin

playing airplanes with papa and van

park time with Erin

showing off her new shoes

pancakes with big brother

Rory in this moment:

18 month Well Visit:

31.75" (49%)
25 lb 12.5 oz (86%)

~ adores her brother and follows him around like his little shadow
~ very independent
~ walks into school without a glance back at us
~ LOVES school and cries on the days we drop Van off and she doesn't get to go too
~ can feed herself using a fork and a spoon
~ drinks a lot of milk and eats well
~ prefers fruits, veggies and cheese to proteins and bread
~ needs to have a teaspoon of Miralax in her milk every morning to help with going potty
~ babbling all the time and saying new words everyday
~ first words were "ashes, ashes" and "mama"
~ can now say mommy, daddy, An (for Van), mimi, papi (for papa), nana, dog, doggy, strawberries, hiiiiii, night night, bye, door, dance, peas (for please), thanks, love you, doll, oon (cartoons), bass (bath), nacks (snacks), help, up, eyes, nose, mouth, NO, cup, mine, book, know with hands palm up (i don't know), woah, wow, nice, pretty, milk, socks, shoes, boots, more, ish (fish), kitty
~ understands everything you say to her or ask her to do
~ loves to dance
~ is the happiest baby
~ people always comment on how good she is when we are out somewhere
~ is the biggest cuddle bug
~ each morning she gets ups first (around 6 am) and she and I cuddle on the sofa watching "oons" while she drinks her milk then she curls her arms up under her chest and falls asleep for the next hour on my chest
~ can put her shoes on by herself
~ loves taking baths; so much so that we have to spell it or else she will want to take one right then and there
~ climbs up on anything
~ will push whatever she can move to get something on the counter
~ has no fear
~ seems so small to all of us (probably because we see her with Van all the time) but people always comment about how tall she is
~ knows what the letter D is thanks to practicing her letters with Van
~ also calls Derek "D" sometimes
~ like her brother she has a Bobbi(blanket)that she carries with her everywhere
~ favorite nursery rhymes are ring around the rosy and itsy bitsy spider
~ is super silly and sometimes bossy
~ can fall asleep anywhere and in some funny positions
~ loves to play blocks, cars with Van, read books, pushing her doll, loves her kitchen
~ feeds the dogs breakfast and dinner
~ loves getting and giving kisses and hugs
~ loves to color but you have to really watch her or she will eat the crayons
~ favorite thing to do: read books
favorite book: it's pajama time
~ has enough hair now for two ponytails
~ loves to wear hats
~ favorite breakfast food: scrambled eggs with ketchup
~ favorite lunch: ham, cheese and a fruit or veggie
~ favorite dinner: broccoli or peas and shredded cheddar cheese

more pancakes with Van

excited about new wellies

with Ms. Derann and her friend Emma

i'm telling you she falls asleep anywhere

holding onto her milk

she put this hat on all by herself

this one too!

sharing "nacks" with basser (baxter)

ready for a walk with van

loves a good scarf

would follow van anywhere

checking out the 7" of snow we got in February

van picked out this outfit for her

these two melt my heart

Derek captured this one morning, she is getting so big

after nap time cuddles with Van

best friends

my world

I am trying not to think that in 5 short months my baby will be two! I love watching her grow and learn but I wish I could slow time just a bit or have a photographic memory.