Letters From Mommy

Life Lesson #1

2011-09-28T19:41:00.000-04:00

The difference between people who are late and people who are NOT late:

People who are late

1. Figure out how long it takes to get from Point A to Point B.

2. Calculate departure time using the following formula: (intended time of arrival) - (travel time) = departure time.

3. Start getting ready to leave at departure time.

4. Pull out of the driveway 15 minutes after departure time.

5. Arrive at destination 15 minutes late.

People who are not late

1. Figure out how long it takes to get from Point A to Point B.

2. Calculate departure time using the following formula: (intended time of arrival) - (travel time) = departure time.

3. Start getting ready to leave 15 minutes before departure time.

4. Pull out of the driveway at departure time.

5. Arrive at destination on time.

First 50 Words, Part 2

2011-09-10T09:39:00.000-04:00

Matthew, this news is a few weeks old now, but you are officially Talking. Capital T. I managed to keep a list of your first 50 words, which was quite a feat considering you absolutely refuse to speak on command. Even more impressively, I didn't lose the list.

Regular blog readers may remember Part 1 of this series (Jason) here. I thought you boys would have more overlaps, but even the 14 common words (starred below) differ in delivery. Kind of cool that we get to know your "ouch" pronunciations so well. Jason did this dramatic, two syllable "ow-cha" while Matthew has a soft litte, "ach." Both so sweet!

Okay, here are the first 50. At press time you've already added at least 10 more!

* 1) All Done ("Allda" complete with hand motions and an insanely cute face)

* 2) Baby

3) Strawberry

* 4) Apple

* 5) Up

* 6) Daddy

7) Tree

* 8) Truck

9) More (with respect to food..."ma ma ma MA MA!")

10) Flap (with flapping arm motions)

11) Oink (really more of a snort)

12) Tweet (in a very high pitch)

13) Duck)

* 14) Quack

15) Cheese (for cameras AND the dairy product)

16) Fishy ("ishy")

17) Wood ("oof" and so stinking cute)

18) Jason

19) Neigh

* 20) No (nanananana)

21) Nadi (this is what you call me)

22) Hat (and you pat your head)

23) Socks (you are OBSESSED with socks)

24) Eye (while poking yourself in the eye)

25) Book

26) Read (this is the best, you scoot your rear end into a lap for a story)

27) Door

* 28) Ouch ("ach")

* 29) Bubble (for carbonated water and actual bubbles)

* 30) Boom

31) Uh-oh

32) Hi

33) Bye-bye

34) Rock

35) Stuck

36) Stick (stickers)

37) Swing

38) Wee

39) Slide

40) Outside

* 41) Boo

* 42) Ball

43) Sit (pronounced, "shit," so that is lots of fun when you say it in public)

44) This

45) This one (diswaa)

46) Dino ("diiiiiie")

47) Water ("awa"

48) Flower

* 49) Noni

50) Mamo

School Days

2011-09-08T20:01:00.000-04:00

Jason,

Last year around this time, you attended your first day of school. I dropped you off and wished I could tell the teacher something--anything--to make her understand how important you are to me. To let her know that if she would only look past your unwillingness to sit in circle time, your disinterest in writing, and your propensity to jump around wildly singing Cee Lo Green songs, she would see how smart, funny, kind, sensitive, and wonderful you really are. I wanted her to preserve your innocence, to listen to your stories, to encourage your individuality, to spark in you a passion for learning. I wanted her to love you and protect you.

Fast forward to bedtime tonight, on the first day of a brand new school year with that very same teacher. You whispered, "Mommy, did you know that everyone in the whole world has different color hair, and different birthdays, and different color skin, and different Mommies, and different color houses, and different ages, and different talking...isn't that great? Mrs. G told me about that. It would be really boring if everyone was the same. And I would be very confused." And I said, "I love you, Jason." And you said, "I know that, Mommy."

Sometimes God puts the exact right person in the exact right spot to help you along life's path, and you just need to stop and appreciate it. So tonight in our prayers, we thanked Jesus for your wonderful teachers. You are so blessed!

Bye Bye Baby

2011-09-05T16:36:00.001-04:00

Matthew,

You are officially a big boy after getting your first haircut yesterday. You had these beautiful little curls and people started assuming you were a girl, so I finally broke down and got them cut off. You're welcome.

Checking out a book...everything seems okay so far...

...until the water and scissors came out.

Then you got distracted by a piece of hair in your mouth.

A little traumatized from the experience, but very handsome!!

Naked Italian Leprechauns

2011-09-02T22:00:00.002-04:00

a.k.a. Jason & Matthew

KL

2011-07-29T19:58:00.002-04:00

We visit Mamo and Granddaddy a few times a year and I rarely get myself organized enough to actually post pictures. Your favorite Keys activities are:

Swimming

Fishing (as long as they are promptly released)

Sleeping

Lunch at Lorelai

Feeding the tarpon at Robbie's marina

Helping Daddy take hero pictures

More swimming

Golf (Matthew is in on the action now!)

Did I mention swimming???

Mom's Work

2011-07-28T19:36:00.006-04:00

Sometimes I think about motherhood...

...how others think about motherhood...

...how you boys will think about motherhood...

...and I find myself trying to explain the inexplicable, like what I do all day. I play. We play. I watch you play. All day long. Every day. With laundry and groceries and fish tank maintenance and school pickup and doctor visits and puke cleanup and post office trips thrown in. But mostly play. So it seems miraculous that a teeny baby turns into a walking, talking, semi-rational human being in just a few years, when all he does is play with his Mommy.

Then I stumble across something like this and it doesn't seem so miraculous after all. Behold a great Mommy in action. Reading a 3 page book turns into a lesson on colors, vocabulary, self-esteem, gasoline, vehicle classification, ownership, personal space, and car noises. Vroom vroom!

Seriously?

2011-06-29T20:39:00.001-04:00

Matthew,

You are just the cutest thing. Really, it is just ridiculous!

Disney World

2011-06-27T20:23:00.006-04:00

So, after several weeks of intense lobbying, I finally let Daddy talk me into a Disney trip. Thank goodness I did! Can you believe it was his first trip?

First on the agenda: Mickey ears and sugar


Our hotel had a beach...

...and Matthew's favorite thing about Disney World, this totem pole.

Jason braved Donald...

...but after Mickey poked him in the eye...

...he was no longer a fan of the live characters...

...so we skipped the (very very very long) lines and did photo ops with statues!

Magic Kingdom!

Daddy and Jason flying on Dumbo

Matthew loved watching the characters and people!

Making our way through the Hundred "Aker" Wood

This jumping water at EPCOT is cooler than most of the rides!

Waiting for big brother to ride Prince Charming's carousel for the 43rd time

Note to self: next time get more pictures with the whole family!

Tuckered out!

Cardio for Real Men

2011-06-27T19:32:00.000-04:00

Granddaddy came to visit you boys a few weeks ago and we nearly wore him out on the first day!

One Year

2011-05-01T19:39:00.022-04:00

My beautiful boy,
You are a blessing beyond words. Here is a look, one month at a time, of your first year.

One Day

One Month

Two Months

Three Months

Four Months

Five Months

Six Months

Seven Months

Eight Months

Nine Months

Ten Months

Eleven Months

Twelve Months

Happy 1st Birthday!

Old Glory

2011-04-28T17:35:00.003-04:00

Jason,
Regrettably, you seem to have inherited my singing ability. You make up for it in patriotic enthusiasm, though!

O Canada

2011-04-27T18:33:00.004-04:00

Boys,

Thanks to Jason's country obsession, we took a Canada detour on our recent visit to Cleveland (home of the Uncle Bubba and Aunt Shells family contingent). I've wanted to see Niagara Falls for years, so I was thrilled to experience them with my three favorite boys. Turns out 7am--otherwise known as 90 minutes after Jason wakes--is a pretty great time to arrive. We were the only people there!

The highlight of the trip for you, Jason, was driving over the border and getting Canadian doughnuts. We all agreed Tim Horton's is a far superior establishment to Dunkin Donuts!

Trouble

2011-04-02T20:40:00.000-04:00

Matthew,
Apparently, hanging out under desks is the cool new thing.

I finally gave up on keeping you out from under there and moved the computer to the guest room, where you can't try to electrocute yourself by eating the wires.

Peace!

2011-03-17T19:27:00.005-04:00

Bedtime seems to be my best opportunity for taking your picture--the only time you're both still!

(And, before anyone lectures me on the dangers of letting my 45 pound preschooler sleep with my baby, I know. Rest assured, they don't stay that way for long.)

Stop. Jammie time!

2011-03-15T20:21:00.002-04:00

Boys, you'll have to forgive me for my latest source of amusement...
matching jammies!

Tickle Time

2010-12-10T08:29:00.001-05:00

You boys are different in many (many many) ways, but you have two things in common:
(1) You love to laugh, and
(2) You love your Daddy!

Slow Down!

2010-12-09T20:04:00.005-05:00

Dear Matthew,
I know you have to grow up, but my heart isn't yet ready for my baby to start crawling. You apparently didn't get the memo...

Mrs. Edwards

2010-12-08T19:29:00.001-05:00

"If you know someone who has lost a child, and you're afraid to mention them because you think you might make them sad by reminding them that they died--you're not reminding them. They didn't forget they died. What you're reminding them of is that you remembered that they lived, and that is a great gift."
--Elizabeth Edwards, 1949-2010

This is important, boys, and I think the sentiment applies to the loss of any loved one. People often wonder what words, if any, to say to a grieving friend. I can tell you that anything involving God and his reasons will almost universally elicit an internal eye roll from the recipient. I prefer a simple and honest "I'm sorry," "I love you," and "I will remember." Then open your heart and listen.

That's all for today.
xoxo

Backyard Fun

2010-12-06T18:24:00.006-05:00

You boys live in a pretty special place--you've had the opportunity to identify hawks, shovel plentiful snow, enjoy frequent hikes, squawk at wild turkeys, explore waterfalls, and even befriend a herd of albino deer residing in a nearby wildlife reservation. I grew up in a special place too--one I experienced as much under water as above. You got a taste of my childhood on our Thanksgiving trip to the Keys, when a manatee swam right up to Mamo & Grandaddy's backyard dock for a snack:

Daddy spotted some fishing line wrapped around our friend's flipper, so we called the local wildlife folks to report his location. They were thrilled to learn his whereabouts and will hopefully help him out!

Veterans Day

2010-11-11T19:06:00.002-05:00

Guys,

Today is Veterans Day. Ours is not a "military town" and I worry--having grown up in a series of such towns--that you will miss out on some of the respect and tradition paid to our servicemen and servicewomen. Many of them are really just girls and boys, yet The Uniform and accompanying responsibility render age-as-a-maturity-indicator pretty useless. Still hard to think of anything but a kid when you see a number like 19 or 23 next to an obituary notice though.

Without getting too preachy, I want you both to hold a special respect for military members, past and present. Sometimes ignorant people ascribe certain views to all members of the armed services--as though a conservative brainwashing occurs during boot camp--but the only thing they all have in common is the voluntary subjugation of their own lives to their country's security. That's huge, and it should never go unappreciated.

So when you enjoy your day off from work, school, or other pursuits on the 11th day of the 11th month each year, I only ask that you take a moment to remember the reason why. Remember, and be thankful.

The Artist

2010-11-08T20:12:00.000-05:00

Jason,
Lately you've been on a painting spree. You paint at school, at home, with brushes, with stamps, with fingers...if I let you paint with your feet you would! The good news is I get lots of original artwork to frame and display around the house. I think you need to work on the whole tortured artist thing though. You're WAY too happy to be a serious painter!!

Sit, Matthew, Sit!

2010-11-06T19:45:00.003-04:00

Matthew,
You have officially mastered the art of sitting. This development, while impressive to Mommy, is not nearly advanced enough for Jason, who today asked when you would be able to play chase.

Swinging

2010-11-05T20:01:00.000-04:00

As winter looms I dread the temporary end of our daily park visits. Matthew even gets in on the fun now!

Trick or Treat!

2010-10-31T19:57:00.005-04:00

"Trick or Treat, smell my feet, give me something good to eat!"
-- Jason, a.k.a IRONMAN, Oct 31, 2010, thanks to his father.