No judgement here

Nathan, my two year old and most precious boy, has taught me a few things. But, the one I'm learning more than ever?? Not to judge. :) I no longer judge parents quietly in my head. "I can't believe their kid is behaving that way....why don't they control their child?!" Mackenzie was "controllable"...very much the pleaser. Nate, not so much.

I love that kid. He's full of life, energy, excitement. Just this morning he came in and immediately put on his crocs (with his jammies still on) so he could go straight outside when we got out of bed. Sure enough, straight to the garage he went - to catch flies on the window sill. His new fave! (Gross!) Ryan and I now are calling him: Fly Guy.

But, there was a turning point in this new stage of parenthood. What made me come to this state of no judgement?

The Bite.

Yes, my son bit a sweet little friend recently. I was that mother. The one who couldn't control her child. We even talked about biting before we went to this friend's house! Ryan and I sat this sweet boy down and said, once again, that we don't bite our friends. And he did it anyway. He didn't listen - at two he rarely does.

So, when children misbehave, it isn't always because their parents don't discipline or don't try to corral. Sometimes that kid is just spirited - full of life, energy, and excitement!

One thing is for sure - Nate keeps us busy. He is so fun - so on the go! I love him with everything in me. Surprisingly, even when he acts out and embarrasses me like never before. :)

Aunt Kat came!

Last week my little sis, Kathryn came to visit for a whole week! It was a blast. Can I just say how honored I am that she chose to come to my house? Kat is 22, graduating from UGA in 2 weeks (with honors!), and is totally cool. She had a week off before finals and she thought, "hmmm...how about I go visit my older sister and her THREE kids - yeah, the one in Kentucky who never leaves this little small town - the one who is a total mom and uncool now. yep, the one who drives a mini-van." (Catch my drift?!) We had so so much fun.

We....

went grocery shopping together, shopped at Target with all the kids, shopped at Target without all the kids (!!!), walked Mackenzie to school, ate at Subway, then walked home, (clocking over 12,000 steps on our pedometers - ha!), made a late night run to Dairy Queen for blizzards, cooked together, sang in the car, chased Nate together, brought and picked M up from school every day, made our own laundry detergent....the list goes on!

I cried when she left. She cried when she left. How did I get so lucky to have not just one, but two sisters who I love so dearly? (Don't worry brother, I love you too!!) I'm so proud of Kat - she looks to the Lord for guidance and is so pleasant to be around.

Thank you Kat for coming. You made my week. You are so fun - and are welcome back at any time!! We all miss you!

Funnies

A conversation with my 5 yr old on a very hot, sunny day....

Mom: "Mackenzie, you smell like sweat!"

Kenz: "That's because it's freazing hot outside!"

Mom: "Freazing Hot?!"

Kenz: "Yep, Freazing HOT!"

Us

It's sunny today and I am happy! High of 69! The perfect weather. The kids and I walked to the park today - let me paint you the picture...I pushed the baby and Nate in the double stroller. Nate insisted on bringing his pull-along puppy, which he dragged off the side of the stroller half way to the park. It was cute - he thought he was walking him. When I asked him the puppy's name he said, "Dog!" Very original. :) Mackenzie got this awesome stroller from my cousin - it's just her size. Her other baby strollers are smaller, but this one seems made for a 5 yr old. Her new thing is to push one of her babies for our walk. (instead of riding her much-favored bicycle.) She's wearing her sunglasses from Disney World which are shaped like Minnie Mouse. She's pretty much awesome. (The Wilmore utilities man in his truck leaned out his window and told me I had a little movie star with me. ) We start talking as we push our babies - we talk about our upcoming trip to LA and what I should pack for our 3 picnic meals that we'll share while on the road. We talk about the sun. We talk about our green fingernails that we painted last night for St. Patty's day. About half way there I realize that God has given me such a great friend in Mackenzie. She was my walking partner today. That girl is just amazing!

At the park I pushed Nate in the swing. I did "under-dogs" for him and he giggled like only a 2 yr old boy can. It was music to my ears! Then, I saw a great moment in Nate. He leaned back in his swing - holding on to the ropes - and closed his eyes. Not for a quick shut-eye. He closed them for a long time and I could tell he was letting the sun beat down on him. I could almost see the sun filling up his soul. And I could see God showering his love on my little guy. It was a great moment - to know that my God is also Nate's God - filling him and shining his radiant heat on Nate's life.

Meanwhile, my sweet Addelyn enjoyed a little nap in her carrier. She's such a sweetie. She began rolling a few weeks ago! Not crazy rolling yet, but I'm sure it won't be long. She's growing too fast already. Slow down my baby girl!

We had a great weekend in Indianapolis visiting our friends, The Summers. Everyone had a great time playing with their respective friend. Mackenzie and Macy were inseparable. And, amazingly, they played really well - I don't think there were any arguments! Nate and Ava even did well. Ava doesn't take Nate's pushing - she just pushes right back! Exactly what my Nate needs sometimes. :) They are too cute together. And Addelyn is patiently waiting for her little friend to be born - any day now. Andrea and I shared some good conversation and even went to the coffee shop for a few minutes - alone! The guys got to watch a game together and spend some time catching up. It does our family well to be with them - where things are easy and life is fun! Thanks for letting us visit! If only we could get them to move back to Wilmore...

I'm going to enjoy the rest of this sunny day! I'm going to open my windows and breathe in life! Spring is near - a time of new growth! I can hardly wait!

Nato

Yesterday Nate was full of mischief. I was sitting at the kitchen table doing homework with M when I felt a cool breeze. After some inspection, I found the front door wide open and Nate on the front porch looking at the fish in our little pond. He found no fault in what he had done...but he did kindly tell me that Lilly had run off. You're not supposed to let Lilly run out the front door Nate! (Don't worry, I didn't chase after Lilly, but she came home pretty quickly on her own.) I must have forgotten to bolt the door.

Then later, we went to play in the front yard. Our first chance to play outside without getting bundled up in a loooong time! It felt great. We had to come in to get Addelyn and feed her. I noticed Nate chewing on a small rock. While trying to convince him to get the rock out of his mouth, he kept saying "gum!" I kept telling him it was a rock. He finally spit it out...and I'm ashamed to say that he was right. gross. He picked gum up from outside. I don't know who's it was or how long it had been out there! sick. sick. sick.

Am I ready?

Mackenzie today after getting home from school: "We played outside today Mom!" (a big deal this winter!)

Me: "Oh fun! What did you do?"

Kenz: "The boys were trying to chase me and two other girls. We'd hide and when we saw them we'd get out and run!"

Oh my! I'm so not ready for this. Sure, it's all innocent now. But before long it won't be. My little baby keeps growing! I haven't shared this with Ryan yet...he seems to die a little everytime he hears of "incidents" with boys. ;)

At our house...

Sleep is not coming easy. I think all 3 kids are going through transitions at the same time. They all have colds, which I'm sure is affecting their normal sleep patterns. Nate has been staying up until 9pm and getting up at 6am. M has been doing a similar pattern. And there have been a few nights that Addelyn has kept us up most of the night - quite unusual. I am thankful that this is not the norm at our place. I hope it won't be long before we are back to our peaceful, sweet dreams!