In the Backyard

Birthday News: Post Two

When Ian woke up on Tuesday, he marched into our room and announced that it was his birthday. We had to break the news that no, yesterday was his birthday. Well, he cried. Poor kid... yeah, I wish every day could be my birthday, too... well, except I guess I'd get really old, really quick, so never mind.

Speaking of my birthday, I still haven't fully embraced turning 30 BUT I am looking forward to a combined Ian-Karen 3&30 birthday party next weekend. I just booked a bouncy house for us that we'll have in our backyard all. weekend. long. Ian is going to be so stoked. Maybe he'll think it's his birthday all over again and well, it kinda is! (Although all of this prolonged birthday stuff is hard to explain.)

Ian had his three-year-checkup at the doctor today. He behaved very well and checked out A-OK. He also seems to love his doctor, so that helps make for a more pleasant visit. Ian's stats surprised me somewhat... he seems to have hit a growth spurt recently! As a baby, he was always in the 25th percentile for weight and length. At age 2, he was 50th across the board. Today he was 60th for weight and 95th for height! He has grown FOUR inches since OCTOBER! So, he weighs 33 lbs. and is 40 inches tall.

I do also need to recap our fun day we had on Monday, Ian's actual birthday... so I will do that in post three!

Birthday Fun: Post One

Because playing an accordion can be dangerous... don't forget your safety goggles!

Soon to be three

I watched you while you slept last night

And wondered what’s in your dreams

What has happened in your short life

Three years went by fast, it seems.

I watched you while you slept last night

Breathing deep and slow and steady

As your third birthday quickly approaches

There’s so much you can do already!

I watched you while you slept last night

You mumbled, tossed, then turned

I thought about how much you’ve changed,

How you’ve grown, achieved, and learned.

I watched you while you slept last night

How your hair stuck up just so,

I thought about what lies ahead,

So much more to do and say and know!

I watched you while you slept last night

A cough, a twitch, and then a sigh.

I wondered what your third year would hold

Knowing the time will surely fly by.

I watched you while you slept last night

Clutching your blanket with your fingers

I know I will cherish this moment forever

I’m letting it sink in, hoping it lingers.

I watched you while you slept last night

I reached out to give you a touch

You awoke slightly, but settled back in,

My sweet Ian, I love you so much!

Just me and my boy...

Boots-n-BBQ

I saw these cute boots in Seth's clothing bin (from when Ian was his age) and figured I better get them out before he grows out of them. They're not very good for his crawling, actually... so, really just for taking cute pics of him standing which he is doing more of these days. I also took off the diaper to get some cute ones of boots in the buff, but I feel a little weird posting them here. I'll just torture Seth with them some day. In other news, we picked up some bbq for dinner tonight. I gave Seth some of my chopped beef, and he went to town on it... like it was the best thing he had ever eaten. Well, it may have been, in fact! He loved it. He's our little eater for sure... and I noticed this more when taking the aforementioned pictures. He definitely has a dimply bottom and rolly-polly thighs!

30 Becomes Me

I actually meant to post about this yesterday... on Feb. 8 which is a month away from my 30th birthday. Since you know I have a thing about numbers, it would've been cool to post something like "30 Days from 30," but since February is a short month, it's not 30 days... and since I already made a math mistake in the last post, I'll drop that premise altogether and just talk about how I feel about this upcoming milestone birthday.

For some reason, this 30 thing is hitting me hard. It's like I just feel older all of the sudden. It may be the whole husband, two kids, and a mortgage thing that I've landed myself in during the last decade of my life. Adding a second child and buying a house in my 29th year certainly made approaching 30 seem more significant. It may also be the fact that I am so tired these days, that every time I look in the mirror, I see those puffy circles under my eyes reminding me that I am no spring chicken.

Or it could be those pesky gray hairs that I started getting a few years ago that have increased in number. Or the fact that I get a little sore and stiff after physical activity... like working out, carrying my children, mopping the floor... It just feels weird to be 12 years removed from high school, 9 years out of college, approaching 8 years of marriage, and the mother of a three-year-old.

I wonder if you would've asked me 10 years ago where I thought I would be on my 30th birthday what I would have said. Am I remotely close to where I'd hoped to be by now? Am I living my dreams, achieving my goals, and loving my life?

While I wasn't the kind of teenager who dreamed about my prince charming husband sweeping me off my feet, and I didn't really think about baby names and that sort of thing, I certainly hoped to one day have a family. In that sense, I am truly blessed... my husband is loving, supportive, smart, handsome, a great father, etc. My children are my greatest challenge... but also my greatest joy. And even though I've felt kind of displaced moving to a new city, I am coming out of that fog and really enjoying the area we live in, not to mention our wonderful house.

Now we just need a dog to complete the picture, huh?

Ha! Just kidding, John!

Career-wise, I guess you could say I'm still a professional even though momhood completely consumes me. Heck, I even own my own business... I'm my own boss, work the hours of my choosing, and enjoy that flexibility plus the ability to stay at home with my kids. I mean, as an almost-thirty-something, I'm set, right? This is a great life, huh?

Then why do I feel like I'm missing something?

I have really been trying to pinpoint the answer to that in the past few months. I have even considered career changes, going back to work full time or finding something part time that is just different. It's not my job that I find unfulfilling. And I'm definitely happy with my marriage and my children. I think, actually... it's my outlook that needs adjusting.

When it boils down to it, I just want to be better at 30 and beyond. I want to be a better wife and mom, engaging more with my family. I want to be exceptional at my job, not just maintain status quo. I want to try some new things, go some new places, meet some new people... all of which I'm sure will happen since Lord-willing, I haven't even lived half my life, yet. And here I am worrying about being old.

In short, I want to live my life to the fullest, not just do what I can to survive.

OK, fine, 30...bring it, I'm ready for ya!

Um, actually... could you just give me one more month to get used to the idea?

Three Weeks Until Three

Well, it's February 7th y'all, and you know what that means? I suppose it's not really that significant, except that in THREE weeks, my little boy will be THREE! (I have a slightly OCD preference for the number three, so therefore it is actually significant to me.) So, let's see...what was I doing three years ago today?

On February 7, 2008 I posted something very significant about experiencing pregnancy-related heartburn and the woes that chocolate might be a trigger. Don't tell a woman who is 9 months pregnant that she can't have chocolate.

On February 7, 2009 I posted about my almost-one-year-old who was learning to eat table food and enjoying pancakes on a lazy Saturday morning.

On Febraury 7, 2010 I posted about more adventures in raising a toddler... the questions of when and how to potty train and the new role of "brother" that Ian would soon assume.

And because of my OCD tendencies, you do not know how THRILLED I am that I can trace back my blog posts to the EXACT day of February 7. I have posts on February 7, 2007 and February 7, 2006 as well! The 2006 post was the ONLY one that month, in fact, and it happened to be on the 7th! Yeah, I know... there might be something wrong with me. (As a side note, did you know that I've been blogging here for five years? But since the number five has nothing to do with three or seven, we won't talk about it.)

I'm actually supposed to be talking about my almost-three-year-old. Today he moved up to the three's class at Mother's Day Out. I have to admit, those kids look so big in there. And well, Ian looks big, too! In just looking over the past three years and thinking about how much HE has changed... how much we all have changed since Ian has become part of our lives. He went from being a tiny helpless baby to a walking, talking, jumping, running, laughing, independent KID... I can't even call him a toddler anymore. My little boy is growing up!

And yes, I am very aware that I posted THREE pictures!

Snowball Effect

I seriously doubt that folks up north care this much about snow, but since it's a pretty rare thing down here in Texas, especially South Texas, we get a little excited around here. Honestly, I don't care too much for snow myself... it's cold, it's wet, I've gotten stuck in it a few times (mostly while attempting to ski, but that's another story.) It's not much fun when it keeps you cooped up in the house or when you have to keep track of all the layers of clothing when you DO decide to actually get out.

However, seeing snow through the eyes of my children for the first time is indeed fun... or funny, since I pretty much figured it would make Seth cry. So, here is our Snow Day 2011... which started melting by 9 a.m. and is now pretty much gone.

And this isn't the first time Ian has seen snow, actually. Here is a video from our "White Christmas" 2009 when Ian was 22 months old.



Isn't it crazy how much he's changed since then?

Meanwhile...

I haven't done my Ian Interview, yet, so here are some cute pics of Seth, age nine months! He's a pretty fun kiddo these days!