A Walk

Today Jeff and I went back to work after an awesome 2 week holiday. We were able to work a flex schedule so that all of the Oregon Duck fans could get home to watch the Rose Bowl. I picked up the kids and noticed how beautiful the day was (my classroom is cold enough to breed penguins) so I told everyone we were going for a walk with my new camera. Our goal: to look for the letters in the kid's names. They were supposed to open their eyes and see letters everywhere they could. I would say that we were on a "nature walk" but the reality of it is that we were on the road and at the park and just around our neighborhood. We were succesful and here are the letters we found.

Christmas Day

The Spaceship (don't ask us about putting it together)
The Christmas Nap

In the new Christmas pj's

I am not great about taking pictures. To be honest, I suck. Jeff is much better at it than I am but he doesn't take a lot of indoor pictures. Here are a few from Christmas. When I say a few, I really mean a few.

I told you so

See post below about Bryce for any questions. Here is Bryce in his underwear helping make pretzels.

Bryce

Speechless. That is what this little beast... I meant angel, makes me. Speechless. He makes me laugh, he makes me cry. He makes me doubt the decision to become a parent because he is difficult to parent. He tests me and NEEDS me all the time. He sticks to me like glue and wants to play with me all the time. I love him to pieces. I even love him in the middle of the night when he wants to sleep in my bed. I love him when he has said "mom" for the 50th time in 20 miles (not kidding - I counted). I love him when he wants to help in the kitchen and help with laundry or help feeding the dogs. He is actually helpful quite often but we all know the help of a child makes whatever task you are doing last three times as long. Oh well, I try to take a deep breath and smile and enjoy the time with him. Sometimes I do a really good job and sometimes I fail... miserably. As I have been trying to write this he is standing next to me playing his Leapster. And, by "right next" I mean he has to be touching me. When I type my arm bumps his arm and he gives me the stink eye because I ruined his game. This is how close we are. He is so different than Cayden who could play for hours by himself. Cayden had such an independent imagination. Bryce needs someone to interact with him ALL THE TIME. It is tiring and I try to think about it in a positive light. I try and I try and sometimes I have patience (can you see the halo above my head?) and sometimes I have been known to tell my own child to stop talking to me. I know, I know. It is awful. But, c'mon people, if you were in a car with him for hours and he says, "Mom what if" a million times you would be tempted to turn up the music a little louder and a little louder and toss pretzels in the backseat. Not that I have ever done that :)

I have no idea what his future will hold. I do know that he watches every move I make and I will be his role model. I hear my words and my tone come out of his mouth and I think "great" or "uh oh". And, just so you know, just because he loves me like crazy does not mean he always listens to me. Just this morning he colored on the table with crayons while he was writing his Christmas thank you notes. What kind of paradox is that? Then, I send him to his room and before he goes he wants me to hug him. He walks slowly down the hall to his bedroom while telling me that I am "mean". I cannot make this stuff up. How many hours until bedtime?

Here I am again

After being gently reminded by my mom that my blog had not been updated in awhile I decided to get back on here. But, to be honest, I got carried away looking at the updates on my friends' blogs and alas, no updates for me when I sat down to do it. Currently I am sitting at the kitchen table surrounded by Christmas decorations that need to be boxed up. Bryce is sitting VERY CLOSE to me as well chattering with me nonstop. I guess this is why I don't blog like I should... there is always something else (or someone else) that needs my attention. I guess it is also like when you have a friend or relative that you don't call because you are waiting for the "perfect time" (when there is total quiet and the laundry is done and the house is sparkling - so never). It gets to be that there is never the "perfect time" but it gets to be so long that you don't pick up the phone at all. Am I the only one who has that happen? To make a long story... well... longer... that is what happened with this blog. It was never the perfect time to sit and write and the longer I stayed away the easier it was to avoid.

I do think about my blog and I think about what I can write. Most of the time I think about it in the car or while I'm teaching or sitting at Jeff's basketball games. Now that I am sitting I don't remember all the great things I was supposed to blog about. I didn't stop to write down the cute things Bryce says or the awesome accomplishments of Cayden or how piano lessons brought me to tears but I am sticking with it. I didn't write down that Jeff bought a new (used) truck one day while he stayed home with Bryce when Bryce was sick. I didn't write about how thankful we were to have Jeff's parents here at Thanksgiving or about so many other things. Where do I start? What do I leave out? I have never really suffered from Writer's Block (maybe because I'm not a "writer" ha ha) so this is new for me. I'm not sure if I can do this today at all but I will try.

Pumpkin Patch

This year we went to the pumpkin patch with the Smith family. My mom couldn't make it this year (she is still recuperating from her zip lining broken foot). The Corn Maze was a Star Wars theme this year and that was AWESOME for everyone. Our only snag was figuring out that the Death Star only had one way in with the same way out. We went in that circle a couple of times before looking at the map.


Palmer and Bryce by Darth Vader


Cayden and Bryce with their pumpkins

All 4 boys with their loot

They had "still enough" for a picture with their mom!

No training wheels? Whaaaat?

I haven't blogged in ages but we definetely felt like this was blogworthy. Bryce is now riding without training wheels. He is now 3 1/2 and I feel like that is pretty good for no training wheels. Cayden also rode without training wheels by this point but I wasn't sure Bryce was going to do it. He just isn't a pleaser like Cayden is. What he lacks in the "desire to please" he makes up in stubborn independence. Good for him.