two years!

Our Tyrannos Regina had a birthday this week and now she's two!! 😱

Vivi really is something.  She is a beast of her own kind and though it's often an exasperating existence with her, I can't imagine her being any different.  I recently read a line from a book that gave me serious Vivi Vibes:

My point is she's bullheaded, which I think is great, but I don't want to be bailing her out of jail when she's nine.

Yep, sounds like my kid to me.

At two, Vivi is nothing like any two year-old we've ever raised.  (Granted there's only been one other, but still.)  At any point in time, you'll find that she has just climbed up onto the counters to get snacks to eat or she has just drawn tattoos all over her hands and arms with whatever writing instrument you were dumb enough to leave out in the opening.  By "you" I mean "I."  I am always the dumb one, forgetting that putting forbidden objects higher up is not a barrier to this child.  It's a challenge, and one she is ALWAYS game to meet.

When she's not screaming her demands she has a cute little voice, and Jon, Theo, and I love getting her to say all of her words.  Her favorite ones: mine, no, and RAWR.  She's true to her brand.

She is very spoiled and admired, especially at church where she plays in laps, gets fed treats, and is pampered with fancy hairstyles before she goes on to nursery.

One of my favorite things about her is how much she loves our home videos.  She could watch them for hours, so I was really excited to make her first birthday video and show it to her.  She seemed skeptical and less than enthused the first time, but I think she's coming around to it.

Happy birthday to our baby!  She has aged only two years, but I think I've aged 6 or 7.

five years!

Young Theodore is five!  It's nearly one month since his actual birthday, and I'm still a little bit in shock that my first baby is five years-old.  How did this happen??

Theo is as sweet as ever and is still the most loving member of our family.  He's so funny, and that has only grown moreso as his communication abilities have exploded this year.  He now tells us cute little stories (usually he just retells the time last year that we hit a deer with our car and it was "super scary" but "we were okay").  My favorite thing is to hear him narrate his play and all of the cute little things he says on behalf of his toys.

Happy birthday to my big boy.  Please grow up a little slower this year.

twelve months!

My baby is now a year old!

Vivi is a spitfire who keeps us all on our toes!  She's a walking, screeching, staticky-haired tornado, and we have to keep constant vigilance whenever she is awake because she is loves getting into all of the places she shouldn't be in.  Specifically, the garbage bin.  She loves getting into the trash, which has earned her the nickname Garbage Baby.  It's not as popular as her other nickname, though: Cutest Baby Ever.

Her biggest fan and cheerleader is Theo.  He always says "Good job, Baby!" whenever she does something he thinks is good, like walking, eating, and basically just being alive.  She loves being chased, and luckily enough, Theo enjoys chasing!  Her giggly shrieks and maniacal laughter are the funniest and best things to hear during the day, and I could listen to them all day.

She is sassy and funny, but can also turn on a dime and become the grumpiest, most scary baby to ever scream at you for more snacks.  Lin-Manuel Miranda didn't know it, but he described Vivi best: Young, Scrappy, and Hungry.

Happy Birthday little Vivienne!  You make our family so much better.

four years!

Why does 4 seem so much bigger than 3?  I die a little inside every time my kids go up a clothing size, but going from 3 to 4 is a new kind of Babies-Keep-Growing Tragedy.

Theo is a wonderful little boy who is kind and sweet and so full of love for his family.  Jon, Vivi, and I are incredibly lucky to be loved so much by Theo each and every day.  Every night before bed we say "I love..." and he fills in the blank with each person in our family.  Sometimes he says "dad" five million times before he says "mom" once (and giggles the entire time), but he always says everyone's name at least once before the night ends.

His favorite thing is his school bus, which he gleefully waits for each morning.  Sometimes he has his backpack on as soon as he wakes up and we have to come up with things to do for two hours while we wait, but I'm just glad he loves school.  He has the best time and his teachers and aides are so great.  He comes home having learned new things every week, and he is devastated every day he doesn't get to ride the bus.

He loves our new house and our new neighborhood.  I've seen his quality of life improve so much in the short time that we've been here.  Which is not to say he was an unhappy in Arizona, but he really is enjoying his life and everything Ephraim has to give him.

Happy Birthday, my little 4-year-old.  Let's see what growth this new year brings.  💙

three years!

Happy Birthday to my three-year-old!  Please stop growing up so fast, it's breaking my heart.  You're the absolute best and are forever my favorite little boy.

two years!

Young Theodore is now two!

Theo is a funny kid who constantly entertains us.  It's impossible to know how many nights before I fall asleep I just scroll through every picture and video of him on my phone, but it has been A LOT.  He's funny, sweet, and weird which is actually the perfect combination of traits for a toddler to have.

Theo's favorite day of the week is Monday, which is garbage truck day.  I try to plan for us to be at home Monday mornings so he can wave to every garbage truck that drives by.  In fact he will wave to any truck he sees, including extra-large pickup trucks.  Bonus points for any vehicles with flashing lights we see while out on the road.  Theo might be the only person who gets excited to see red and blue flashing lights while in the car.

Theo's least favorite day of the week is Sunday, which is "I-have-to-wear-stuffy-clothes-and-be-quiet-for-a-long-time" day.  Would you believe it if I found myself thinking multiple times this year: "Man, I took YSA wards for granted."?  Sundays were rough for us most of this year, but we are hopeful.  In a few weeks our services will start at 9:00 am.  Which, YOU GUYS.  We have lived every bit of Theo's life (HIS NAPPING LIFE) with 11:00 am church and it is a miracle we're still living.  Also, Theo is fully in nursery without one of his parents there, and it certainly took forever to get to this point, but we're here and it's amazing.  Praise every nursery teacher who has ever calmed a screaming child.

Theo loves to "help."  Be it at the grocery store, in the garage doing laundry, or cleaning up spilled water, he is very into being of assistance.  I've also come to learn that when he is stuffing random objects under door cracks or into chests or bookshelf areas where they don't belong, it's his way of tidying up.  I tell you, the day I figured that out I just about melted.

He also loves to "fist bump," so if you ever meet him and he's being really shy just hold out your fist and ask for knucks.  Instant ice-breaker.

He loves to be outside, gives the best hugs, gets sad when someone on tv cries, and will laugh hysterically at a two second video of a completely black screen.  Funny, sweet, and weird.

Happy birthday, Theo.  I think you're just the best.

twelve months!

I am officially the parent of a one year old.  How is that even possible???

Theo is constantly moving, so half of the pictures we take of him are blurry.  He prefers the fastest mode of transportation, which is why he hasn't been so keen on adopting his next stages of movement.  It was the army crawl for the longest time, since he could worm around faster than anything else.  Now it's the regular crawl, which he really gets into sometimes by bowing his head down and slapping his hands down on the floor.  He has taken about three steps total in his life, which were around a month ago.  He hasn't shown any interest in it since.  But I am sure that when he does take on upright mobility, his preferred state will be running.  Help.  (I actually had a dream last night in which he was running in a circle and I've been deciding on whether or not I should categorize that dream as a nightmare.)

He loves to eat and drink.  Thus far he is very willing to try just about anything we put near his mouth (including non-food items).  His favorite foods are ice cream, raspberries, peas, and bread.  He loves to drink from his straw-sippy-cup, but more than that he loves to suck up the water and then let it dribble out of his mouth and all over his clothes and wherever he is sitting.

He is just starting to pay attention to the television.  He still tends to only be interested whenever there is music playing.  I have a Youtube playlist of Disney songs I play when I need him to focus up on something for a short time.  Without a doubt though, his favorite thing to watch is 101 Dalmatians.  I often play the opening song and credits over and over whenever he is in crisis or cranky, and it calms him down nearly ever time.  Honestly, it has been one of the biggest lifesavers, and to the person who uploaded it onto Youtube... I owe you so much.  I think maybe I should ask you to be Theo's godparent.

He prefers no clothes, and relishes the times when I am too tired to change him into something new and he gets to crawl around in just a diaper.  He also loves bath time splashing water all over and his favorite tub toy is the bottle of baby shampoo.

He is sooooooo loud, like unbelievably loud, and it is hilarious but also a little embarrassing when he has an nonsense-rambling outburst in public.  This kid wants to talk, there's no question about it.  Once he learns he will probably never stop.

He is a cranky waker-upper and an avid animal cracker eater.  The best way to get his attention is to start playing a video of himself (sometimes he literally only listens to himself).  He hates cuddling, he loves the wind all in his face, and he is the hammiest ham and cheese sandwich ever.  With extra cheese.

Happy Birthday, young Theodore!  This has been the craziest year of my life, but you are wonderful.  I love you, and your dad loves you.  I am happy to have this day to celebrate your presence in my life.



(and also to celebrate Jon and me because, you know... we survived.)