My little peanut is coming out of his shell

I have always called Blake my peanut and in the more recent times I have continued, not because he has a peanut head, he doesn’t have one of those at all, but because he’s like a peanut that is save inside his shell (home).  We recently moved into a new home and I think it threw him off a bit, actually he’s said several times he wants his old house back and he doesn’t like his new house.  He’ll get upset about little things and say, “I just need a hug mommy”.  That usually makes it better, he’ll hold on for a few minutes though.  When he sets his mind to something, he is stuck on it until it happens.  Today when the baseball game was canceled he was very upset and couldn’t understand why we couldn’t go since it wasn’t raining at that moment…come on God, at least let it rain when that is my excuse to him instead of the field just being wet now. 

He LOVES, LOVES, LOVES books, any book, any time, any where it will calm him, sooth him, make him so happy.  He understands them and will bring up what happens in them at random times during life.  He remembers words and “reads” them with us, he tries to read them himself, looks at them in bed, sleeps with one most nights and naps and has shared his passion with his sister.  Here is a book that totally opens up and they could get inside.  He thought that was amazing!

When he gets mad he sure can make a face, when he’s sad, scared, happy, excited, he makes just as much of an emotional face for that emotion.  I love his expressions.  He’s had them since day 1.  He is an emotional child and I love him for that.  I love that he is compassionate and lets his emotions take over.  Now we just have to teach him to control them when he can’t.

Breads, sweets, and quesadillas are this boy’s favorite foods.  He will eat every meal and usually most of it (except vegetables) but he isn’t shy to tell you what he really wants.  He’s not a big milk fan, but loves flavored water and juice, which he gets very little of and it’s still 1/2 and 1/2, that sugar is just not worth getting them addicted to so early in life. 

He is a shy one unless he’s around people that comfort him, family and close friends.  Even then sometimes he clams up.  This picture we were trying to take at the beach was no exception.  Many times he refuses to take a picture he has to really be in the mood, and if he is he NEEDS Delaney to be right in the picture with him and in the mood too. 

Sleeping has never been a problem until early February, before our move.  But really it started after his surgery the beginning of March, just after the move.  He “asks questions”, wants 20 songs sang, sits in his bed and won’t lie down.  He does usually stay quiet, just doesn’t sleep sometimes during nap and going to bed at night.  Sometimes he wakes in the middle of the night, not really needing anything, just calls us.  He learned that he could call us around the time we were at the beach for Spring Break, now we get that every now and then, at least now he asks in a normal voice, he did scream for us for a while.  When he does nap, it is usually a 2 1/2 to 3 hour nap, other days he just lays in bed for a couple hours playing with his blanket.  Recently he’s started sitting up and even standing up more, he has never done that.  Delaney has never not done that.  Rarely do we sleep in the car, but sometime he’ll give up.  I find him crazy in his bed sometimes, usually with his pillow on top of his head.  With the video monitor it’s sometimes hard to find him, but amusing when he does sleep.

Boy does Blake love his daddy.  He chooses him for many things, like bedtime, sitting beside him at the table, etc.  They have a special bond that I love watching and have to admit am jealous of sometimes.  It makes me love both of them more every day (didn’t know that was possible).  But he does have his place in his heart for me and so do I! We cuddle and hug, read books, and just “be” together all the time.  That boy warms my heart in no way anyone else can.  The picture of him walking by me I wish you could hear.  He was saying out of the blue, “I love you mommy.”

He loves his cars, trucks, basketball goal, balls, and dolls (well Delaney’s).  What a well rounded boy!  I cannot wait to see what life holds for him! 

Come See Me 2012

Come-See-Me 2012 was great!  I hate we missed the last weekend of it, but we went to all the rest of the events, here are a few memories.  Looking forward to the 50th reunion next spring.  Plan to come to Rock Hill to enjoy some of it. 

Bath time

Many people lately have talked about how much they dread bath time at their house, I must say, I LOVE it.  The kids have so much fun together.  We have always washed them right when they get in, I think that helps with the rest of it and getting out part. 

A Charleston Wedding: Katie and Chuck

My best friend from high school, Katie Spears, got married this weekend to Chuck Collins, who I also went to school with for 12 years, but never really knew.  They didn’t start dating until the past couple years, it’s so wonderful how God works to bring soul mates together.  They are meant for each other and the love they have is undeniable.  Dara and Julie are with us in this picture from her wedding, the other is from 9th grade.

Kevin and I got to go on a date Friday night in Charleston since the wedding wasn’t until Sat night.  We had a great time together and enjoyed Sat walking around enjoying the town.

This is the gift we gave them, 6 bottles of wine for different times during their first year of marriage.  Please steal the idea, I did!

A full of life 2 year old

Delaney is 2 years and 3 months right now.  She is into everything and knows so much about life.  She is so compassionate.  She looks at me says, “love you”, kisses me and waits on my smile.  She wants to make Blake happy, she’ll share her toy with him even if it’s her favorite.  If she tastes something that is so good she just has to make sure someone else tries it and likes it, even though it means less for her.  She loves to cuddle too and hug all the time, sometime I get irritated because she’s loving on me so much, really?  I need to get over that and take every hug I can get!  however there is a non compassionate side to her when it comes to nature and bugs…this bug on the left lived about 1/2 second after this picture was taken.

This look on her is such a classic Delaney look.  She is expressional about most things.  When she hears something she makes this face and points to her ear waiting on our reaction to say we hear it too or to tell her what it is.  She is talking in sentence some of the time now.  She comes up with the most random things to say sometimes, she’ll remember something from yesterday or last week and just blurt it out randomly.  She sings songs in the car, at night and other times, some favorite are “Take me out to the Ballgame” that goofy sings, she’ll request it by saying “Mick Mouse Cub house” in the car for that CD, Blake encourages her to sing, he just started himself.  She requests “Kum ba (kum ba ya)”, “Its bitz (Itsy Bitsy Spider), and “Hump Dump (Humpty Dumpty)” at night right now, I made a tune up for Humpty Dumpty.  She can also sing a bit of her ABC’s. “ABCDOPHJ”.  The “op” in in everything she does when she sees letters or talks about them.  It’s very cute and I hope to remember it.

She goes to the potty and likes to do it by herself telling us to get out.  She can do it alone too, she’s had very few accidents in the last month, none over the past 4-5 days.  Nighttime and naptime has been a struggle lately, she wants us to read 20 books, and rock her for ever.  She gets very hyper at bedtime and takes a while to go to sleep.  She likes to have her baby and monkey, “hee hee ha ha” is what she calls her, in bed with her.  (To the right is a picture of her getting Miss Monkey’s arm sewed back during Come-See-Me at the bear hospital the Animal Clinic did).  Once she does go to sleep she is out for the night though.  Usually about 7:30pm-6:30 or 6:45am.  Naps vary everyday. Sometimes she’ll go right to sleep, usually I have to go back in there for her to poop, another rock, or to put her clothes back on her.  She loves to strip and through everything out of her crib, not herself yet, I’m waiting on that.

She loves to be upside down, flung around, dropped, she takes gymnastics and flips all around, stands on her head, swings on the bars.  She is fearless and loves to try new things.  Things that we would encourage Blake because he’s 3 to do she tries first and usually succeeds.  Like riding in the front of the train, notice where Delaney is and Blake is near the back with daddy riding with him.  Even when she was little, getting her to sleep was difficult until we moved fast or rocked her hard, she is an on the go little girl.  She loves to run, ride her bike, jump, and twirl, where ever she is, whenever she wants.  She does not sit on her bottom, she’s up on her knees or feet squatting ready to be on the move at any time.  She has taught Blake to wrestle and roll around, she has encouraged him already to be a little more risky than he wants to be.  Below she has an inch worm on her finger, once Blake realized what it was and she started towards him with it he was gone, she chased him with it until she smooched it. 

Her hair has gotten much longer now and she wear pig tails most days.  bows still won’t stay for very long, just because there isn’t much hair and they gradually fall out as she’s moving 100 miles per hour.

She loves school and has several friends that she calls by name now, including “Harp (Harper)”, “No no (Norah)”, but I hear Maleigh is her favorite friend, they tend to miss each other and lean on each other throughout the week.  They are both there 4 days and the others are only 2 which probably makes a difference.  She loves art time and many times they have to distract her so she isn’t over there doing art with all the other kids in class too. “Mace (Miss Mayci) and “Kel (Miss Kelli)” are her teachers this year and they both seemed to really enjoy her. Especially Mayci who tells me all the time how much she loves her and she’s her favorite. She’s on her way to school with her bee book bag (change of clothes and accessories that she was pulling out and putting on, can you tell where I wear my glasses most of the time?)

She does get in trouble, we haven’t really figured out the best way to punish her.  She gets her feelings hurt easy.  Here I was in the kitchen and they were playing so well on their own that I left them, then I heard an ut oh from Blake and I went in to find this.  Marker on the floor and a naked Delaney.  I send her to the corner to time out, which used to work, she doesn’t care much about it now, will stand there until I tell her to come out and she comes to say she’s sorry, give a kiss and does it again.  What to do with her?  We have tried to pop her bottom, but she’ll cry for 5 seconds and just says “pop me no”, or just “pop me” while shaking her head no which is what she usually does.   

Kindermusik at church on Wednesday nights is fun and she is once again running around everywhere.  She enjoys the instruments and interacting with others in the class.  John Howard and Allen, the two boys at church her age are in there with her and she’ll usually go up to them and hug them when they come in, sometimes laying a big kiss right on their faces.  Allen gets red in the face, John Howard kisses her right back.  I love that she’s a people person, even in stores she gets many smiles, but those that know her always have such good compliments about her.  She is good around baby-sitters, teachers, friends, grandparents, etc., but at home she tests her limits all the time, guess it’s better that way than the other way around.

Believe it or not she is girly too, she loves to dress up, wear make up, have her toes painted, and get her hair done and cut (pretend cut right now).  She carries her babies around and changes their diapers.  It’s sweet seeing her being a little girl, doing little girl things.

She likes to ask for snacks all the time, but she doesn’t eat much of anything at one sitting.  We have to beg her to eat, feed her while on the go, or make it new and fun some how each meal.  She usually will eat lots of fruit and carbs without begging, but vegetables, not usually.

She is Delaney, a unique little girl that holds my heart in her hand.  I love her so much and look forward that what each day brings with her. 

Gary Williams for County Council

We are in the middle of a political campaign.  Dad is running against Britt Blackwell for County Council.  Recently Rock Hill/York County has had some bad leadership and dad is ready to get in there and make a difference in our community.  I am so proud of him and the whole family is pitching in.  The grandsons helped us put out over 20 signs in our new neighborhood (dad’s old one) today.  The race is on for the primary on June 12.  If you are in the area and want to help, please let me know.  If you see Delaney ask her what the sign says, she says, “Vote Gary Williams” so cute!

Potty Trained

I have not written in a while, I plan to catch up with them over the next couple weeks, we have been so busy with Come-See-Me, a beach trip, Easter, Campaigning, potty training, and the terrible twos that I just haven’t been blogging much.

Both kids I can now say are potty trained!  Blake wears a pull up at night still, but stays dry 99% of the time.  We started at the beach two weeks ago and he had one accident at the beach and one on the playground here at home, other than that it’s all been in the potty.  We had a few tears, well, screams the first few days, not for a diaper, but just that he had to go and didn’t want to let it out.  He knew he was ready and we did too, kept pushing along and he did it!  We all made it! 

Delaney started in November, did well, regressed, and now I can say she is done too.  She wears a diaper (doesn’t like the pull ups) for nap and night time, but if she pee pees in it or poops, she takes it off usually and calls us or goes back to sleep.  Aw man, does that mean she needs a big bed now so she can get up and go when she needs to?  Not sure I’m ready for that! 

It’s interesting on the go, but with two of them, I’m getting it knocked out at once.  Pretty cool!