Baby on the Brain

For those of you who actually read my blog (yea, the 6 of you plus my family), you're familiar with Drew's interest, ummm I mean OBSESSION with having a baby sister. I realized as the arrival of his best friend's little sister was rapidly approaching that the situation was only going to get worse. Now that Gracey is a week old, I can assure you, my little monkey is determined not to be left out of this wonderful experience of having a younger sibling.

Many of you know that Drew's quest for a little sister started about a year ago when he would inexplicably cry as we left Target or Wal-Mart. Finally, I asked him what was wrong and got the answer, "My wan baby sistewr" (this coming from a child not yet two). We realized he thought that you could go to Target or Wal-mart to buy a sister; which, considering the fact that we bought everything else there, was not an unusual assumption.

Slowly, he began to get more and more persistent. He would ask me for a baby sister, he would ask Jesse, at night he would take his request to God. Super cute and super determined.

Last week, he took his petition to a whole new level. As we would meet new people, he would introduce himself, "Hi! My name is Drew. I'm two and my birthday is in August AND I don't have a puppy OR a baby sister yet." Clearly, these poor people were slightly at a loss as to what they should say (I know I would have been). Just as clear, was Drew's certainty that if Mom and Dad wouldn't listen to his wishes then he would take his case to the streets. When Ashlee and Jim came over and brought Gracey with them, Drew looked down enviously at that sweet girl and then informed Ashlee, "Its ok. I'm having a baby sister very soon too." We laughed, tried to explain that it wasn't that simple and hoped it sunk in. However, today he decided to take it a step further. While checking out at the library and catching up with a friend, Drew loudly announced, "I'm going to be a big brother! Mommy is going to have a baby and its a girl!" I quickly had to correct the staff and my friend as they offered their congratulations. If a person could talk something into existence, this kid would be a pro!

I'm hoping that he will have a sibling on the way at some point in the near future (we'll deal with the whole baby sister vs. baby brother then) and our plan to adopt a puppy at the end of the summer may serve to temporarily distract him. In the meantime, if any of you receive a phone call from a certain precocious little man informing you that I'm going to have a baby, think nothing of it. He probably stole the phone and started calling people in his determination to make his wish come true...at this point, I wouldn't put it past him.

Small Town Pleasures

As summer is timidly trying to make its appearance here in Columbus, I'm realizing more and more just how blessed we are. Aside from the fact that our adorable little town is most definitely North of the Mason-Dixon line (which I am slowly adjusting to), it is very much the place I've always dreamed of raising children.

Today Drew discovered the small town joy of the ice cream truck, driven by a sweet old lady that ohh-ed and ahh-ed over him as he picked out his treat. Those ice cream trucks use to creep me out beyond belief...perhaps it was the sleazy male driver vaguely resembling someone I had seen on the 6:00 news, combined with the 15 passenger van providing a prime opportunity for the kidnapping of unsuspecting children. Columbus is completely different though. In part, due to the sweet old lady and the fact that her truck is a converted golf cart with coolers on the back certainly doesn't hurt.

Of course, Columbus in general feels such a wholesome and simplistic place. This is the town where almost no one locks their house (even when they aren't home) and where 6 year olds bike to the park on their own and play for hours. A friend and I joke that you could even leave your car windows down, keys in the ignition, doors unlocked and in the event of a rain shower, someone would come along and roll the windows up for you (another friend recently confirmed this to be true). Cyclists and pedestrians abound here and the majority of the town seems to be on a first name basis.

So, while I may not be in my beloved South and while I may occasionally have to do battle with less than thrilling temperatures (today's high is somewhere around 60), we have found a place we call home and can only hope to be so blessed as to raise our family here.

Little Rascal meets Sesame Street

For the past few days, Drew has been basking in the glory of a new house with a front AND back yard, sidewalk and tree lined streets, dirt piles waiting to be landscaped, landscaping to "help" with and a multitude of other new things to discover. As he rides his bike around the block at ever increasing speeds, exulting in his torment of fenced in neighborhood dogs, he looks (and sounds) ever bit the part of a Little Rascal. When he careens to the park, taking turns that make training wheels a mute point and meets up with a crowd of preschoolers to play with, I half expect him to start talking like Spanky. Then suddenly, he tilts his head back and sings, "Its a sunny day and it is warm! I'm riding my bike and we're going to the park." He turns and says, "Oh Mommy! Isn't it a pewrfect summer day to ride my bike to the park?" Wholesome goodness that falls nothing short of Sesame Street! Of course, then it becomes necessary to rub ample amounts of dirt on his body and into his hair in order to insure a bath in his gigantic clawfoot tub. There he can splash and make waves while he tells serious tales about the day's, "Abentures".

His tractors have some serious landscaping work on their hands!

He's convinced (and won't take no for an answer) that this tree has been struck by lightening.

He watched Daddy build this swing for the backyard. He kept telling us, "I get a swing all my own self!"

Look out Columbus!

A (little) Man of Many Words

Jesse and I were exchanging Drew stories the other night and I realized it was time to blog a few more, before they are forgotten. I put this picture in because it gives a visual of the most recent Drew funny. It went something like this: I was putting in a movie for background noise while we're doing some packing. Suddenly I feel his little body snuggle up close to me. "Mommy," he says, "I'm fweezing!" I offer to put something warmer on him (which he proceeds to pick out). Each article of clothing results in, "Oh Mommy! That's so much better! I so comfortable now; I so warm." Adorable, isn't it?

Equally adorable (and yet inappropriate to laugh at to his face) was a recent discussion on consequences. Drew was experiencing a "teaching moment" after having mouthed off to me. Jesse was explaining to him what consequences are. At first I was unsure if he was understanding when he suddenly retorted, "The consequence is that Kelly the Crane is going to knock this house down!" (Obviously, like his parents, he has a difficult time being told what to do.) I had to excuse myself because as much as I wanted to laugh at the intense face and serious eyes coming from the little monkey, I knew I shouldn't.

I guess one could say that he's becoming quite good with the come backs. I went to "remind" him that it was naptime a couple of days ago and once again he didn't like the direction the conversation was taking. All of the sudden he stood up and pointed at me and said, "Well I think that's quite enough TV time for you. Turn it off and get quiet!"

Along that same line, it was about 10:00 on Saturday night and Drew was still playing in his room. Jesse went in and told him that it was very late and that he would be too tired to go to church in the morning. To which Drew responded, "You're going to be too tired" (with an amount of attitude that one so small should never posses).

Just in case the amount of smart-aleckness is a cause for concern, I thought I would throw in a couple of moments that showcase mere cuteness (without the sarcasm and attitude).

This morning we were on the couch talking about dogs. He announced that he wanted a big dog. "I want a big dog," he said "and I want him to sit on the couch and then I will get him a great big bone because he will love me and I will love him." I asked him what he wanted to name the dog, to which he responded, "I don't know....ummm, how about someting like Clifford?!?!" Ummm, I love big dogs but I wasn't planning on one the size of the house.

After busting in on Jesse getting out of the shower (he's so exciting that we're going to have a second one soon!), Drew shook his head and informed him, "Dad, I can't be like you...I can't just be naked." I keep telling Jesse to lock the door...

Early today Drew was eating a frozen Go-gurt when he spotted the Shrek characters on the side. "Mom!" he yelled, "This girl has sword and that could be very dangerous!"

Hope you guys enjoy these as much as I did. I only get concerned with his verbal acrobatics when I realize that if he's like this at 2.5, what will he sound like in a couple of years...much less a teenager!

A Dream Realized

I've posted this picture on facebook and talked about it some there but it occurred to me that I wanted to put it in the blog as well...if nothing else, for the sake of continuity. The 29th of this month will mark our 6th anniversary and for six years, we have patiently moved from apartment to apartment always hoping for more but trying to be satisfied with what we had. Then, we moved up to Montana in January and while I secretly dreamed of a yard for Drew to play in and a second bathroom (potty training with 1 bathroom is no fun), I was thoroughly pleased with the most recent reincarnation of apartment living. This place is huge for an apartment and right in the middle of our small town, where everything is a short walk away.

A few weeks ago though, I had some friends at Bible Study ask me how I was liking our apartment. I responded that I loved it and then (as sort of a side note) mentioned that it would be nice to have a yard some day. My friend Lynn quickly responded that another friend of ours owned the two houses next door to her and was fixing them to rent this summer. I smiled and thanked her for the information, all the while thinking that there was no way that we would be able to actually rent a house. I put off talking to Amy (the friend who owned the houses) for weeks. When we bumped into her at a fundraiser though, Jesse brought up the houses. Things happened fast (for a small town anyway) after that and last week we made an appointment to go and look at one of the houses.

We were prepared to turn her down from the beginning. We were prepared to see not enough house for the money. We were prepared to come back to our apartment, thankful for being able to call it home. We weren't prepared to be wrong on all accounts and to fall head over heals in love with this little green bungalow. Perfect in almost every way (aside from some much needed landscaping and yard work, which actually makes it even more perfect), it has all the charm of an older home with just enough modern update. Add into that a second bathroom (praise Jesus!!!), a front AND back yard (yet another praise Jesus!!!) and the possibility of getting a furry friend in the future...what more could a little family ask for?

So, after packing up my entire apartment in TX in a week, driving for days across the country and declaring that this job better work because I wasn't packing and moving again for YEARS, I find myself packing yet again. Seriously though, this apartment has been a huge blessing and was exactly what we needed when moving up here. I am so thankful to have had it. However, I cannot wait for June 1st when we can start moving into our little family home. Oh, and did I mention that it is on a tree lined street and is about 500 yards from the park and community pool? Yep, for us, its pretty much perfection!

A Perfect Moment

So, there's this song that was popular a few years back. Actually, it was most popular around the time Jesse and I got married and we danced to it at our wedding. Its by Steven Curtis Chapman...here are the lyrics, for those of you who aren't familiar with it...and then I'll get back to my point.

I'll take care of you
Don't be sad, don't be blue
I'll never break your heart in two
I'll take care of you
I'll kiss your tears away
I'll end your lonely days
All that I'm really tryin' to say
Is I'll take care of you

I want you to know that I love you so
I'm proud to tell the world you're mine
I said it before, I'll say it once more
You'll be in my heart 'til the end of time

I'll take care of you
Don't be sad, don't be blue
Just count on me your whole life through
'Cause I'll take care of you


For some reason, I knew even when Jesse and I picked it for our wedding that someday, I would end up singing it to our children. So it seemed inevitable that when Drew would be restless during my pregnancy I would find myself putting my hands on my stomach and singing these words to him. Before he was even born, I would rock in the glider in his nursery and sing it softly. After he was born, I would often hum it or sing to him late at night as I was feeding him. Even up until yesterday, he would pull me over to the glider, now banished from his big boy room and sitting by a living room window, climb up in my lap and snuggle, asking me to sing to him.

Yesterday, that changed though. I watch every day as the signs of my once chunky, little, baby fade away. Feeling that loss, I pulled him into my lap while I was rocking and began to sing those sweet words again. Instead of snuggling though, I got a gentle push as he pulled away, "Stop singing Mom...I need to get down and go read," this miniature man said to me. I looked at his long legs and serious face and wondered if that meant that he didn't want to rock just now, or if he'd outgrown this ritual along with all the other infantile things he's so eager to cast aside.

Today, I still haven't been able to get it out of my mind. As I was eating dinner though, Drew climbed up next to me. I smiled and then went to take a bite when I heard his little voice start to sing, "I'll take cawre of you, don't be sad...Mommy? Sing the wrest to me, please." Of course I did and a little pause on my part between each phrase, awarded me with his sweet voice singing along, a couple of words behind. At the end, he looked up at me and smiled, "That's a gwreat song Mom!" he said. Moments later he was racing around the house, playing some hybrid of dinosaurs and monster trucks, no sign of the sweet baby in sight. That's ok though, that moment was perfect. I just have to remind myself, the sweet baby has grown up but he left behind a precious, if precocious, little man.

"All Myself"

"All myself" appears to be the phrase of the moment. A recent growth spurt seems to have perpetuated this even further. Now brushing his teeth is a battle because he can reach the toothpaste and brush; therefore it must be done, "all myself." He can also reach the soap and faucet and so washing hands must be done, "all myself." A trip to the potty equals a slam of the bathroom door and opening it before he is finished earns me a loud, "MOM!!! I do it all myself!" This is ,generally speaking, accompanied by a look and moan that I was certain I wouldn't be receiving until much closer to puberty. This morning's "all myself" moment came as he was dressing himself. The underwear and pants went on no problem but it would appear the shirt gave him some difficulty. Jesse was concerned that it was on inside out; my concern was that apparently my son is sporting a tube top. After several frustrating minutes as Drew realized that there was some sort of problem, resulting in his shirt down around his hips, he conceded that perhaps this one time he didn't have to do it on his own.

I wonder where this stubbornness and desire for independence comes from???