What a week

Seems like we had something going on every day this week!  Once again, up until today/this weekend, I barely found the time to pick up the camera to take pictures - though I seemed to take plenty with my phone's camera.  I'm not complaining about the neglect my camera has felt these past few weeks.  It seems that I struggle lately with the choice of "being present in the moment" and "capturing the moment".  These past few weeks I've been making a conscious effort to be present.  A picture never does justice to the moment.  Lets be honest here, these kids are growing so fast, and changing every day, and it's never been more apparent to me that I will never get "today" back.  Pictures are nice, and I will still try to take as many as possible; but its becoming more important to me to be present…

The kids were in town this week and staying with Grandma and Grandpa, so we spent quite a bit of time over there hanging out and playing in the pool.  J loves hanging out with the big kids.

Now that J is older and more active, the kids have more fun playing with him too.  While A may be still considered a "baby" in Schylur's eyes, the girls showered her with attention, especially Sienna.

A's favorite place to be is her high chair.  It is without a doubt associated with food, which she can't seem to get enough of.  now that she has four (almost five) teeth, she's finally able to break down foods that are a little bit harder.  And is finally learning that once I give her food, I won't be taking it away immediately - which means that she isn't shoveling fistfuls after fistfuls into her mouth…unless its rice...

We have been struggling a little bit over here with the "terrible twos" for a while now.  I keep hoping it gets better soon, but in reality, it will probably be a few months.  There are some good stretches of time where J is such a happy and content little boy, and he makes sure that A has what she wants/needs, constantly bringing her a snack, bink, water, etc.  Then there are other times where he walks over to her and pushes her down, or takes her toys away.  All of these are met with time outs and temper tantrums followed by hugs and kisses to say sorry.  And then repeat the cycle over again and again and again.  I am not wishing these days away, but forever praying for patience.

Friday we had a playdate at an indoor playground (because lets face it, its hotter outside than the surface of the sun).  J had a blast and was going down the big kid slides by himself!  Guess he's becoming more and more big kid than little kid every day.

Saturday was a little challenging, with J going on yet another nap strike.  With it being too hot to spend much time outside, I poured him a dish of bubble solution and let him go to town inside.  I put A in her chair and he was blowing bubbles for her :-)  This gave me the 5 minutes I needed to thaw some chicken nuggets and reheat some veggies for dinner.  Lets hear it for a dinner that was a step above PB&J!

This morning J and I colored while A was napping, then it was off to Grandmas to hang out in the pool and try to combat the terrible twos with reinforcement - lets face it, this mama is beat!  I can't tell if A is going through a separation anxiety phase, or if she's always been this way, but if I'm in the room and she's tried or over stimulated, she only wants to be held by me.  Screaming, crying, and flailing will ensue if anyone else tries to hold or comfort her.  While she doesn't weigh anything close to J, after 10 min, she gets HEAVY.

I asked J to put his crayons away before we went to Grandmas….so he put the box away, then one by one walked each crayon over and put it away in the closet too….maybe they need a bag instead.

While at Grandma's, J helped prep dinner, A napped, and we all played out in the pool.  J got to blow bubbles with Aunt Barb and the bubble gun, and spray us with the squirt gun.

J kept moving and moving and moving.  He didn't get a nap today; which I knew would happen given the time we went over to Grandma's house.  And every time he felt like he was going to nod off (after the pool) he would jump up and change positions, effectively waking himself up a little.  During dinner he put his head on his hand for support while he chewed his food.  He was zoning.  We left to go home, and he was passed out and snoring before we hit the freeway.  This is what I found when we pulled into the garage; snoring and drooling.

until next week friends!