White Blankie

On Tuesday, I picked the kids up at Dan & Rachel's house in the evening. When we got home, Jonah walked through the door and immediately asked, "Where's white blankie?". White blankie has become Jonah's most precious friend. The blankie was knitted by my mom and technically is white with a blue border. Jonah takes nap with it, sleeps with it, plays with it and when he's in trouble - white blankie is who he wants to comfort him. I've had to come up with some inventive ways of trying to get blankie in the wash.

"Oh, blankie needs a bath."

"Let's watch blankie take a shower."

"Blankie's sad that he smells sooo bad."

Jonah may not look to much like me but his dependence on inanimate objects as definitely a trait from me.

"Oh, white blankie."

Train of Thought

I have found that motherhood has really interrupted my train of thought. Example - I will walk into the kitchen with great intentions to accomplish something or grab an item only to totally forget why I walked into the kitchen in the first place. Substitute the "kitchen" for another "location" and I have experience that same results. My solution - standing in the moment, trying hard to remember, not remembering and moving on to the next forgetful situation. It's really ridiculous how often it happens now. I use to consider myself pretty "together" before kids now it's just I miracle that I make it out the door with the my purse.

A Calm Evening

A typical evening at the Willard house usually consists of a two-year old whining about eating dinner while his baby sister devours two jars of food. Then somehow everyone ends up in tears as mommy & daddy try to give baths and lay everyone down for bedtime. Needless to say, evenings can be hectic & unpredictable. The kids moods change at a moments notice. A simple request turns a happy child in to a tantrum. A cute, content baby girl all of a sudden desperately wants to be held. Times have definitely changed.

I was nervous when James said that he had a Braves game tonight. I thought to myself, "oh boy how am I going to handle my two munchkins alone?" But luckily tonight, they were on their best behavior. I had one whine about dinner from Jonah then he joyfully eat his pizza and pineapple. McKenna happily eat a ton of green beans & pizza. I had no protests about bath time. We read books, kissed goodnight and they both laid down to sleep. It was an amazing evening with the kids and it was much appreciated. I got to see the sweet, precious side of my children. And through all the chaos in my life right now, I needed to be reminded of how wonderful it is to be a mother.

The times they are a changing. . .

James and I started the New Year off with a weekend without the kids. It was quite enjoyable. I remember when we first had Jonah, I had an extremely hard time leaving him for more than 8 hours a day. Although McKenna had not been without me for one night since she was born. It was not hard to go away without them. I was needing a much deserved break after 6 months.

McKenna is now 7mths - going on 8mths soon. During months 4 to 6, we had some hard sleep training to do with her. She would cry herself to sleep at night. Then she would wake up and cry for 30mins to 2hrs in the middle of the night. Oh, it was tough. James and I would just lay in bed wondering if we were doing the right thing. At one point, I thought she had an ear infection b/c there was no way a baby could cry for 2 hours for no reason. I was wrong - no ear infection and yes, babies can cry for no reason. But now we are passed that phase. McKenna goes down for bed with her lovie snuggled by her face and doesn't make a peep. She sleeps until 7am and wakes up happy as a clam!

Speaking of happy - she is a pure delight. Her smile is so wide and heart warming. She finds her big brother the most entertaining person ever. They will giggle together at the dinner table and James & I will giggle at them while we are cleaning all the food that landed on the table and floor. We think she is going to start crawling soon. She's got the baby bounce on her knees going. When she sees something she wants, nothing stops her for getting to it. I'm hoping the crawling doesn't start for another month or so. I don't know that I'm ready for that phase.

Jonah will be starting a 3yr preschool in September. We found a church in our neighbor that has a great facility and program. We have been talking to him about school and when drive by the church he points and says "Mommy, School". We have been trying to teach manners to him - he's a bit of a comander. Tonight before I started to read to him, he said, "Mommy, I need milky". I said, "what do you say". Reponse - "pleeeeassse" in a give-it-to-me-now tone. So I looked at him and he looked at me. Then he started to smile and laugh. He already thinks that his cute looks will help him get what he wants. I realized at that moment, "boy I'm in trouble". I'm know I'll be getting plenty of calls from the school over the next 16 years.

It's December Already?!

I love Christmas time. It's definitely my favorite holiday of the year. Maybe it's because red is my favorite color or all the glittery decorations. This year is going to be spectacular with the kids. Jonah is going to be really into his presents and McKenna is really into whatever Jonah's into. We put the tree up on Thanksgiving day. I normally decks all the halls in our house but this year I cut back on some trimmings. I have spent the time in other places such as knocking out all my Christmas shopping. I have a couple gift left and then I'm done. I'm going to sit back and enjoy this holiday season!