Today you are six months old. And son, if your dad didn’t hate horses so very much, I’d totally buy you a pony for how awesome you’ve been these last few weeks. In your five month letter, I told you how when your sister was five/six months old, she’d gotten two teeth, gone on a “nursing strike” and rolled over. Then I asked you to go easy on me. Well, survey says you didn’t really take it easy, little one. Turns out most of that stuff must be genetic, because you have accomplished all of those things this month and more. But you know what? As always, you took it all in your little stride. You smiled and laughed through two days at Disney World in the 97 degree heat. In fact, you were so happy, I didn’t even realize your little tooth had popped through until you bit me when I stuck a stray finger in your mouth. And then a day later, whoops, there was another one! But even while totally uncomfortable and surely in pain, you were a bright light of joy. Dude, I want to bottle up whatever you’re taking and sell it on the black market. I’d make a killing.
You survived your first plane ride during our Florida trip, and as expected, you did wonderfully. You fussed for about two seconds, nursed, and fell asleep for the rest of the ride. Despite the stuffy nose and the swollen gums, you snoozed for two and a half hours and then woke up ready to go when we got of the airplane. The couple in front of us stood up after we landed and did a double take, as you were so quiet during the trip, they hadn’t even realized there were kids sitting behind them. Yeah, I know, I’m gloating. Whatever, I’m sure someday when you wreck the car joyriding with your buddies I’ll look back on this and say “Karma, pure karma.”
You have taken greater control of that little body of yours this last month, learning to roll over and sit up all by yourself. And you were kind enough to save both moments for when I was present. See, this is why you get a pony, kiddo. I’m so happy I was there to see the look of shock on your face as you realized you had flipped over, and the total contentment as you balanced on your little bum for 10 seconds and then fell over. I know that before I can count the days, you’ll be crawling all over the place, getting into everything and anything. So for now I’m enjoying my somewhat peaceful home, and prepping the baby gates.
Thank you for being the father of my kids. Thank you for being a good man, someone they can look up to. Thank you for being there, even when you’d much rather sit on the couch and watch Top Gear with a case of beer instead of going to a cartoon drive in movie. Thank you for embracing all things glitter and pink, even though that’s pretty much everything you are not.
Thank you for being a sturdy set of shoulders for them to sit on when they can’t see. Thank you for sharing what you love with them. Thank you for loving me every day, right in their presence, so they know what it means to be a good partner. Thank you for fixing things that have been broken with gorilla glue or nails or just some well placed words.
Thank you for working so hard, every day and night, to give them a good life. Thank you for the genetics you’ve passed on, including her fiery personality and his long eyelashes. Thank you for giving me some damn fine looking kids.
Thank you for worrying about them, for being the “bad guy” when that’s what they need to hear. Thank you for yelling at her when she runs out into the street, even if I don’t always act like I agree. Thank you for being his favorite voice. Thank you for sending me pictures of what you’re doing together when I can’t be there. Thank you for always wanting the best for them.
Thank you for being such a good dad. For being their dad. We love you one hundred.
http://www.crazybananas.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/Crazy_Banans_Logo_WebsiteBanner.png00Meganhttp://www.crazybananas.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/Crazy_Banans_Logo_WebsiteBanner.pngMegan2011-06-18 22:22:322011-06-18 22:23:23A Note For the Dad
About a year ago Lulu started asking us when we’d be going to Disney World. A few of her little preschool friends had gone over the summer, and she was so excited about going herself. Breaking the news to her that we just couldn’t afford a trip to Disney was too much for me to handle, so I broke out the tried and true parenting method we’ve all used one time or another. I lied.
I told her that Disney World actually had rules about who could visit and one of those rules was that the oldest kid in your family had to be seven. I know, right? But it was the only thing that came to mind that could explain why her friends V, C and A got to go and she didn’t. They all had older siblings, so that’s the first thing that came into my dumb brain. She believed me, as mommy never lies because lying is wrong (dear God), and seemed to move on, hoping that when she was older, she’d get to go. Me? I had no idea what I was going to do when she was seven, but I had dodged a bullet. For now at least.
Fast forward a few months and we have a new baby / crazy new life. I had just met, hired and scheduled a nanny for the summer and had recently returned to work from maternity leave. We had been refusing Easter trips and other long weekend vacations since I had used all of my vacation time during my maternity leave. I didn’t feel comfortable taking any time off for a while, especially since my work had been so awesome about my time with Tate. So when we got an email from Trent’s uncle telling us he was planning on renting a block of rooms at his Orlando timeshare so he could take his son and grandkids to Disney World, and did we want to come along, I immediately said no way, Jose. Free hotel rooms at Disney? Awesome, yes. But I just couldn’t take the time off. Also, the nanny we had just hired was going to have to take some time off for her sister’s wedding, so I was already going to have to take vacation for those days, and I just felt I couldn’t do both. So we politely told him “thanks, but no thanks” and didn’t mention it to Lu.
Two weeks later, our lovely nanny-to-be emailed me and apologetically informed me she had the dates wrong for her sister’s wedding. The days she would need off would actually be the same days that we had been offered the Disney trip. The stars began to align. I called Trent’s mom (who was planning on coming along for the trip if we did go) to discuss it further. We realized that the trip would fall on the weekend of Lucy’s 5th birthday and my mind started to race with possibilities. My amazing mother-in-law decided that she and her husband wanted to buy the tickets to the parks for Lucy’s birthday and they had a bunch of airline miles we could use for plane tickets.
How could we say no?
We couldn’t.
Then began the plan to tell Lucy, who had been asking what we were doing for her birthday for months. We decided to have her write a letter to Mickey Mouse, asking if he would mind making an exception to the “seven year old” rule for her, since she had done such a good job at quitting sucking her thumb and being an awesome big sister. Then we waited. Every day she’d check the mailbox, hoping for a response.
Two weeks before her birthday, we packed up a stuffed Mickey Mouse doll, a personalized DVD Disney had sent us and a letter from Mr. Mouse, himself. She found it on our front porch and totally lost her mind. It was one of my top five parenting moments, for sure (you can watch the video and see photos here). Less than 14 days later, we were on a plane headed to Florida for the best birthday a five year old could ask for. We are so, so lucky.
{Next up, our day at the Magic Kingdom…}
http://www.crazybananas.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/Crazy_Banans_Logo_WebsiteBanner.png00Meganhttp://www.crazybananas.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/Crazy_Banans_Logo_WebsiteBanner.pngMegan2011-06-16 09:27:052013-01-19 23:46:20Disney World Part 1 - How the Hell Did We Get Here?!
6 Months
/1 Comment/in Photos, Tate /by MeganWell hello, my dear Tater Tot,
Today you are six months old. And son, if your dad didn’t hate horses so very much, I’d totally buy you a pony for how awesome you’ve been these last few weeks. In your five month letter, I told you how when your sister was five/six months old, she’d gotten two teeth, gone on a “nursing strike” and rolled over. Then I asked you to go easy on me. Well, survey says you didn’t really take it easy, little one. Turns out most of that stuff must be genetic, because you have accomplished all of those things this month and more. But you know what? As always, you took it all in your little stride. You smiled and laughed through two days at Disney World in the 97 degree heat. In fact, you were so happy, I didn’t even realize your little tooth had popped through until you bit me when I stuck a stray finger in your mouth. And then a day later, whoops, there was another one! But even while totally uncomfortable and surely in pain, you were a bright light of joy. Dude, I want to bottle up whatever you’re taking and sell it on the black market. I’d make a killing.
You survived your first plane ride during our Florida trip, and as expected, you did wonderfully. You fussed for about two seconds, nursed, and fell asleep for the rest of the ride. Despite the stuffy nose and the swollen gums, you snoozed for two and a half hours and then woke up ready to go when we got of the airplane. The couple in front of us stood up after we landed and did a double take, as you were so quiet during the trip, they hadn’t even realized there were kids sitting behind them. Yeah, I know, I’m gloating. Whatever, I’m sure someday when you wreck the car joyriding with your buddies I’ll look back on this and say “Karma, pure karma.”
You have taken greater control of that little body of yours this last month, learning to roll over and sit up all by yourself. And you were kind enough to save both moments for when I was present. See, this is why you get a pony, kiddo. I’m so happy I was there to see the look of shock on your face as you realized you had flipped over, and the total contentment as you balanced on your little bum for 10 seconds and then fell over. I know that before I can count the days, you’ll be crawling all over the place, getting into everything and anything. So for now I’m enjoying my somewhat peaceful home, and prepping the baby gates.
I love you Tater. You are my sunshine.
Love,
Mama
A Note For the Dad
/0 Comments/in Lucy, Tate, Trent /by MeganThank you for being the father of my kids. Thank you for being a good man, someone they can look up to. Thank you for being there, even when you’d much rather sit on the couch and watch Top Gear with a case of beer instead of going to a cartoon drive in movie. Thank you for embracing all things glitter and pink, even though that’s pretty much everything you are not.
Thank you for being a sturdy set of shoulders for them to sit on when they can’t see. Thank you for sharing what you love with them. Thank you for loving me every day, right in their presence, so they know what it means to be a good partner. Thank you for fixing things that have been broken with gorilla glue or nails or just some well placed words.
Thank you for working so hard, every day and night, to give them a good life. Thank you for the genetics you’ve passed on, including her fiery personality and his long eyelashes. Thank you for giving me some damn fine looking kids.
Thank you for worrying about them, for being the “bad guy” when that’s what they need to hear. Thank you for yelling at her when she runs out into the street, even if I don’t always act like I agree. Thank you for being his favorite voice. Thank you for sending me pictures of what you’re doing together when I can’t be there. Thank you for always wanting the best for them.
Thank you for being such a good dad. For being their dad. We love you one hundred.
Disney World Part 1 – How the Hell Did We Get Here?!
/5 Comments/in Family, Fun, Happiness, Lucy /by MeganAbout a year ago Lulu started asking us when we’d be going to Disney World. A few of her little preschool friends had gone over the summer, and she was so excited about going herself. Breaking the news to her that we just couldn’t afford a trip to Disney was too much for me to handle, so I broke out the tried and true parenting method we’ve all used one time or another. I lied.
I told her that Disney World actually had rules about who could visit and one of those rules was that the oldest kid in your family had to be seven. I know, right? But it was the only thing that came to mind that could explain why her friends V, C and A got to go and she didn’t. They all had older siblings, so that’s the first thing that came into my dumb brain. She believed me, as mommy never lies because lying is wrong (dear God), and seemed to move on, hoping that when she was older, she’d get to go. Me? I had no idea what I was going to do when she was seven, but I had dodged a bullet. For now at least.
Fast forward a few months and we have a new baby / crazy new life. I had just met, hired and scheduled a nanny for the summer and had recently returned to work from maternity leave. We had been refusing Easter trips and other long weekend vacations since I had used all of my vacation time during my maternity leave. I didn’t feel comfortable taking any time off for a while, especially since my work had been so awesome about my time with Tate. So when we got an email from Trent’s uncle telling us he was planning on renting a block of rooms at his Orlando timeshare so he could take his son and grandkids to Disney World, and did we want to come along, I immediately said no way, Jose. Free hotel rooms at Disney? Awesome, yes. But I just couldn’t take the time off. Also, the nanny we had just hired was going to have to take some time off for her sister’s wedding, so I was already going to have to take vacation for those days, and I just felt I couldn’t do both. So we politely told him “thanks, but no thanks” and didn’t mention it to Lu.
Two weeks later, our lovely nanny-to-be emailed me and apologetically informed me she had the dates wrong for her sister’s wedding. The days she would need off would actually be the same days that we had been offered the Disney trip. The stars began to align. I called Trent’s mom (who was planning on coming along for the trip if we did go) to discuss it further. We realized that the trip would fall on the weekend of Lucy’s 5th birthday and my mind started to race with possibilities. My amazing mother-in-law decided that she and her husband wanted to buy the tickets to the parks for Lucy’s birthday and they had a bunch of airline miles we could use for plane tickets.
How could we say no?
We couldn’t.
Then began the plan to tell Lucy, who had been asking what we were doing for her birthday for months. We decided to have her write a letter to Mickey Mouse, asking if he would mind making an exception to the “seven year old” rule for her, since she had done such a good job at quitting sucking her thumb and being an awesome big sister. Then we waited. Every day she’d check the mailbox, hoping for a response.
Two weeks before her birthday, we packed up a stuffed Mickey Mouse doll, a personalized DVD Disney had sent us and a letter from Mr. Mouse, himself. She found it on our front porch and totally lost her mind. It was one of my top five parenting moments, for sure (you can watch the video and see photos here). Less than 14 days later, we were on a plane headed to Florida for the best birthday a five year old could ask for. We are so, so lucky.
{Next up, our day at the Magic Kingdom…}