From a little boy to a man slightly older boy

Lucas has a slam good time at the beach. He's mentioned, on a daily basis, how he's ready to go back. He spent most of his time boogie boarding on ankle high waves and avoiding looking at the camera.



I bought some small dump trucks at the dollar store before we left and they proved to be a good investment. Lucas in particular loved running them through the sand and into the waves.



He "practiced" swimming in the shallow waters because he's just too upset that his eldest sister knows how to swim (in the pool) without floaties and he does not.



Several times over the course of the week I'd look at my oldest boy and marvel at how grown up he is. I know 4 years old isn't old, but for this Momma's heart it seems old. He still loves early morning cuddles and will usually give me hugs and kisses upon request. He still, unprompted, says, "I love you Momma" and it just melts my heart each time.



Yet I see glimpses of the young man he is growing to become. Eager to please his father and I, asking good (and tough) questions about God, loving his sisters despite their desires to only play the "girly" things and loving his littler siblings beyond what I thought possible for a little boy.



And then, just when I think he's getting so mature and growing so quickly, I see this in our attempt at a family photo....



And I realize that maybe he's not as grown up as I thought. But then again, neither is his Dad and he's technically considered an adult.

My own little red-headed mermaid

Ashlee has two favorite activities, running and eating. When she's not doing one, she's certainly doing the other. A close third on her short list of "Things that make Ashlee happy" would be babies, Ella in particular. Being at the beach allowed Ashlee to either be running or eating constantly, which made her little self very, very happy.

Imagine the energizer bunny with a garbage disposal attached to his face and you get Ashlee.

I think it's important to note that the last time we went to the beach as a family was when Ashlee and Lucas looked like this:

She was slightly slower and less of a food hog then. Wow. Time surely does fly.

She and Elizabeth spent copious amounts of time jumping over and running from the waves.

She's stand in them, then scream and run like fury to get away.

Of course there's always time to stop and act silly. Anything to make someone laugh.

There was lots of boogie boarding...

...and I FINALLY got her to sit still long enough to do this....

"Being a mermaid is the most fun ever Mom! 'Cept, can I get up now?"

Oh my little red-head is growing up right before my eyes. Slow down little one. Stay my sweet, loud, overly energetic, baby loving, fast running little girl for a while longer, won't you? Please?

If you try, I'll fix you a snack. Deal?

My bucket filling, boogie boarding, blue eyed boy at the "beek"

Aaron, our most independent child, quite possibly had the best time of everyone at the beach. He loved the freedom to roam anywhere his heart desired. (Except, you know, into the ocean. I think he would have kept going and going and going had we not kept stopping him. He'd get bowled over by a wave, tumble through the small whitecaps, stand up, smile and charge into them again.) He loved the freedom to dig and play in the sand, get dirty and not be told to stop.

And, he LOVED his Daddy pulling him on the boogie board in the surf.

He got mad when he wasn't allowed to take shovels or buckets or toys from his little sister

and decided laying in the sand was a good protest.

He wore the same, "my parents are exhausted" shirt just about everyday to protect his fair skin from the blaring rays of the sun and to also let everyone know the true state of mine and Luke's energy level.

He got his beach bucket filled with Atlantic salt water 5,739 times and followed his Daddy out for a fresh helping almost every time.

And, in turn, led Daddy back to his desired location an equal amount of times.

He helped dig holes and make sand castles and fill buckets of salty water with sand. He played hard, slept soundly, awoke early and probably had the most fun of his entire 2 years of life.

And we loved seeing the beach and ocean, waves and birds, boats and adventures through his 2 year old eyes. He keeps asking when we could go back to the "beek." Buddy, if it were up to me, we'd go back tomorrow.

Meet my new daughter, Sandy

Okay, so I don't really have a new daughter. But, have mercy, if Olivia could have gotten anymore sand on her body I was seriously going to change her name. Okay, maybe not, but STILL.

And to think that her first experience with the sand and ocean started like this...

Before we left, I'd began noticing some reoccurring behaviors with her. Since she used to receive Occupational Therapy (OT) and Physical Therapy (PT) I'm always on the look out for her behaviors and watching her fine and gross motor skills. After talking with my BFF Amanda (who is a Speech Pathologist by profession but spent the last several years as a behavior interventionist, working with kids with disorders of all types) I knew it was time to give Olivia's former OT a call.

Although I think most of her behaviors are certainly learned and personality driven (she's the new, reigning Drama Queen, remember?) I also think there could be some sensory issues going on. I say all of that to say that once Olivia got over her issues with the water and the sounds of the surf and the fact that birds were flying 200 feet above her head and the sand, OHMYWORDTHESAND, she was fine and spent quite a bit of her time doing this....

Of course, what you cannot see is that each and every time my sweet little princess sat in the sand, she felt the need to immediately do this...

What's that? You can't really tell what she's doing? Okay, how's this...

SAND.IN.HER.HAIR. SAND IN HER HAIR! SAND IN HER HAIR. Every.single.time. Do you know how hard it is to get sand out of her hair? I wish I could come up with an adequate analogy but all escape me right now so just know IT'S HARD.

Unless she was helping MeMe carry a fresh bucket of water (where I think MeMe had secretly lured her to the water to rinse the sand out of her hair)...

Or it was the 10 minutes that MeMe convinced her to wear a hat...

my sweet little Drama Queen had sand in her hair. Sandy Olivia loved wearing her shades...

and as her Mommy I loved the afternoon where just the two of us sat in the surf, collecting (and promptly throwing) sea shells and allowing the Atlantic waters to wash away the sand our cares. We sat there for at least an hour. And it may have been my most favorite hour all week.

How I love this little girl, sand and all.

Ella at the beach

It would be impossible for me to summarize our vacation with just a few short words and a handful of photos. So, I've decided that over the next week I'll post my favorite handful of photos of each of the kids, starting with Ella since she has the least number of beach photos.

Unfortunately, after the first day, Ella's time on the beach was minimal. I was anxious about the amount of sun her fair-skinned self could endure as well as not loving her rolling around and getting sand everywhere. I bought a screened tent for her to sit inside but the wind didn't agree with my plans, thwarting any attempts at keeping a tent from blowing away. So, it worked out that she just stayed in the house with whoever was inside unless she was being carried or held while Mommy or MeMe or Daddy sat under an umbrella.

Have I mentioned that she's the easiest, most content baby ever? No?

Well, she is.

This first picture is from out attempts to get family photos with a tripod. I just love the way she's looking at me. Pardon the graininess, I had to zoom way in to get just her looking at me. Don't worry though, I'll show you the whole photo at some point. It's too hilarious not to.



My sweet girl asleep, on a beach chair, on day 1 of our trip.



Sitting in Daddy's lap on the deck, watching brothers and sisters play on the beach.


Oh.my.lanta. I could just eat her right up.

We are facing "burn up upon re-entry" to our usual routine. After Aaron peed in the potty 487 times while we were gone (all by his own prompting) I decided to give potty training another go today. At lunch, while I stepped into a slightly quieter room to talk to Luke, Aaron proceeded to poop in his booster seat then mix it with the lunch left on his plate.

Ewwwwww. I can't even begin to imagine the mind of a 2 year old. I think Mike Rowe should visit my house for one of his episodes.

Life's a beach

Today

was

a relaxing

and totally awesome

first day

of vacation.

(P.S. No. The laptop keyboard is not fixed. I'm typing using a wireless keyboard that's wirelessly connected to our laptop. It's sorta like those folks who put a working TV on top of a much larger, non-working TV. Redneck much?)

The.hardest.post.ever.written.(by.me)

Well.this.may.prove.to.be.the.hardest.post.I've.ever.written.

All.because.of.some.little.chubby's.grabby.hands.&.fingers,our.computer,and.a.cup.of.water.

bet.you.thought.this.was.going.to.be.emotional.and.heartfelt,huh(insert.question.mark).

Oh.yes.I'm.taking.blogging.to.a.whole.new.level.

OH.YES.I.AM.

Water.Damage.People.

WATER.DAMAGE.Apparently,Dell.doesn't.make.their.computers.water.proof.

Who.Knew(insert.question.mark)

The.said.water.(and.corresponding.baby)
damaged.our.spacebar.the.letters,"b"&"n"&.also.
the.arrow.keys.nor.does.the.question.mark.key.work.

Hence.all.the.periods.due.to.a.non-functioning.spacebar.

Wanna.know.how.I'm.typing.the.letters."b"&"n"(insert.question.mark)

COPY.&.PASTE.Oh.yes.

Do.you.know.how.many.words.contain.the.letters."b"&"n"(insert.question.mark)

I'm.too.lazy.too.find.a.question.mark.to.copy.and.paste.

So,Luke.&.I.are.trying.to.decide.what.kind.of.new.computer.to.purchase.

Should.we.get.a.....MAC(insert.question.mark)

or

purchase.another....PC(insert.question.mark)(Clearly,I.enjoy.accurate.punctuation.even.with.a.jacked.computer.Clearly.)

What.would.you.do(insert.question.mark)...you.know.other.than.continuing.to.write.with.
all.periods(question.mark)

If.you.don't.hear.from.me.for.a.few.days,I'm.trying.to.revive.a.drowned.computer.

Motherhood.Rocks.

Saturday's special

On Saturday we made a fun family trip up to see someone very special. Paige is one of the students that graduated this year from our Student Ministry. She holds a very special place in the heart of everyone in our family.

Back before Luke and I ever even made the plunge into Student Ministry, Paige played the role of Dora the Explorer at Elizabeth's 3rd birthday party. Little did we know then that Paige would grow in our hearts the same as our own family. Truth is, we love all of our students equally. But our relationship with Paige is different than most of the others. Paige has consistently gone out of her way to come and visit us, make it our kids' birthday parties and just spend time with us when she could have been hanging out with other people. So naturally, we've developed a relationship with her outside of the church walls. Our kids have developed their own relationships with her. We are exponentially blessed by her on a continual basis.

The thing is, Paige allowed us to disciple her. And, it doesn't matter how eager you are to influence the life of another person if they don't choose to allow you to do so. She's invested as much in us as we've invested in her. She's proven to be an investment that we will never regret making. So it's for those reasons that Paige is special to our family and always will be.

Our girls look up to her and I couldn't be more pleased with the role model that they've chosen. And even though she's moved off to college a whole 2 hours away from us, I have a hunch will still see her on a pretty regular basis. Not only were our older 3 enamored with the fact that Paige lives at a real, live college but we had an amazing time "hiking" around at a local state park.

We did lots of running...

Lots of walking at our own pace....


Lots of shoulder riding...


Lots of chubby cheek grinning....



More than our fair share of jumping off rock walls...



We took cat naps in the stroller....


We posed everytime the camera was looking in our direction...


We allowed Luke to use the camera (which is really something special)....


We made silly faces...


And we made lots of lots of memories.

Thanks Paigey for letting us crash your Saturday. We had so much fun and we love you more than you'll ever, ever know!

Two gets me everytime

Before I get to the photos of where we went on Saturday, can I just confess something to you?

Just between us, okay? You can't look at me sideways at church, email or call me and ask me if I'm okay, or really think less of me in general, okay? Deal?

Sometimes, I don't really like my two year olds.

Don't get me wrong, I LOVE them every day. It's just that somedays I don't like them. And I don't think it's specific to the two year olds that I currently call mine. I remember when another dynamic duo was two and, somedays, I didn't like those two year olds either. Love them so much my heart might explode? Yes. Like them? Notsomuch.

Why are we Moms afraid to admit that there are just some ages that we are not so good at dealing with? I mean, I can handle a crying infant. I can handle it for long periods of time with little-to-no end in sight. I can rock and swing and walk and snuggle an upset baby for the majority of most days. I can handle the sleepless nights and the constant feedings.

But give me a defiant, overly dramatic, completely irrational two year old, who can't adequately articulate what he/she wants to say and then flies into a furry of pissed-offness because I can't understand his/her words...well, it's more than I can handle when it consumes my life every other 5 minutes.

I look at my sweet little Ella and wonder how many more months I have of her awesomeness until that day hits and the two year oldness begins. I'm praying for her to go straight from 16 months to 3 years. I'm doubting that's a providential prayer.

Yesterday was a rough day with my two little two year olds. I love them more than I could ever put into words but yesterday, I didn't like them very much. The irrationalness of throwing a fit because I won't allow a 2nd cup of juice and flinging a body on the floor because I won't allow coloring on the cabinets crawls all over me. As a coping mechanism I ignore irrational behavior and casually step over whomever is writhing on the floor in complete agony because I'm a mean Mom who refuses to allow you to play with the electrical socket.

And while I'm busy dealing with constant meltdowns, I'm wondering how Christlike I am to these irrational, overly dramatic tiny people on a daily basis. I mean, I try so, so, so hard to put myself in their size 5 shoes. I try to think about how hard it must be for them to try to tell me something that they want or need and yet I just can't understand. I try to understand that, often, they have to wait a few minutes and waiting isn't easy for a person with no concept of time or the needs of others. But my frustration level with them is easily increased, much to my ill attempts at keeping my heart and head in check. I've prayed prayers of patience, asking God to fill in the gaps of my humanness and supersede my shortcomings when I feel that tightening in my core because I just can't deal with another meltdown right now.

But most days, I don't really rely on Him to provide me with grace. Most days I just allow the anger and frustration to wash over me and I fly into a sea of redundancy allowing wave after wave after wave of meltdowns to overtake me. And then I lose it.

See? If any of you thought that I had it all together you can now rest assured that I am not at all together. In fact, if together was ever a word you used to describe me then you can purposefully never combine that word with your thoughts of me.

It's just that these two little folks who are obviously going through a phase and thistooshallpass seem to intentionally do the exact things they know they will get a consequence for.

And it drives me bananas.

I'm not suppose to slam the door and you tell me that every.single.day? Oh good.

SLAM THE DOOR! SLAM THE DOOR! SLAM THE DOOOOOR!!!

I'm not suppose to open and shut, open and shut, open and shut the kitchen cabinets? Oh good.

OPEN AND SHUT OPEN AND SHUT OPEN AND SHUT OPEN AND SHUT!

It's not okay for me to play with 3 specific toys that are set aside and out of reach and only for the older kids? Oh look!

I CAN SCALE THE BOOKSHELF AND JUST TOUCH SAID TOY WITH MY ITTY BITTY FINGER UNTIL IT FALLS AND THEN I HIDE AND PLAY WITH IT.

I mean, seriously?! There aren't many things that they are restricted from. I learned that lesson quickly with our first set of two year olds. I choose my battles and make very few things off limits in our home. Toys and play are free and easily managed by these little toddling persons. I mean, afterall, it's their house too and they shouldn't be scolded every 5 seconds just for living. But there are boundaries and there are a small number of toys that they are not allowed to play with. But it seems that is exactly what they want to do.

You know, exactly what they aren't allowed to.

Oh how it drives me crazy. And every time a child of ours comes into this age I forget that two year olds are like this and it blows my mind all over again.

So do me a favor, will you? When Ella hits about 17 months old, will you remind me that her twoness is just around the corner? Hopefully it won't take me by surprise like it has 5 other times. Hopefully.

And if you are a superstar at parenting a two year old, I could use a tip or prayer or two three.

A guessing game

On Saturday our family took a fun little day-long adventure to see a very special friend. Can you guess where we went? Here's a really bad hint:

Everyone had a fantastic time "hiking," laughing, jumping, running and seeing our good friend. Well, almost everyone....

If you already know then NO GUESSING. If you guess and didn't already know you'll win something special, like 697 Beaver points. Which are worth absolutely nothing except bragging rights.

Happy Monday y'all.