flee the scene

we're out of the house this week while they put our new kitchen and bathroom floors in, install our cabinets and make the shower and tub operational. pray that this all actually happens. if it takes much longer i'm going to just ask my doctors to go ahead and admit me to the hospital and give me the epideral. i'll just wait it out watching 'dirty dancing' and 'flashdance' sipping cranberry juice on crushy ice.
there's this opsprey near mt. airy that builds its nest on the same silo every year. and every year at least once, a huge storm comes along and knocks the thing over. nevertheless the parents pick up the pieces and hold their ground, even through hurricanes.
i'm starting to feel like those birds.

a great birthday, with a hitch

big tayloe took a holiday yesterday and we all went on a mountain journey for t2's birthday. it was good fun, complete with blueberry picking in the mountains, gorgeous views and mud puddles.
the hitch was that wolly was missing for 24 hours, but now he's home. tayloe's my hero for finding him.

i two

happy birthday little tayloe. tomorrow's the real day, but we celebrated on sunday with a little party that was a huge hit. you loved your cupcakes and had fun opening your presents with aunt mary. on sunday afternoon your dad and i set up your new train set and you sat for over a hour playing, giving us a running dialogue of all things choo choo. our favorite is when you say 'all aboard!' and chug the little engines down the track.
i gotta tell you kiddo, your tenderness, fearlessness and passion amaze us. you must fall down 15 times a day and a good number of those are kinda painful crashes. yet you rarely ever complain and when you do all you need to get back on your feet is a little kiss. you've been sleeping in a big twin bed for almost two months and rarely wake up in the night. in the morning you trot into our room, blanket in hand, and pull on my arm. 'hhhiii mama!' when you see me open my eyes.
sometimes the things you say break our hearts, like when you whisper 'wuv you' when we kiss you goodnight.
last friday you and dad and i went to the pool. we were walking through the parking lot, just the three of us, holding hands. i felt a twitch of pain because i know it won't be that way much longer.
without getting mushier, i'll just say you're a beautiful boy. your daddy and i love you so much and we love each other more every day for giving one another the gift of you.

sweet tayloe cuteness

this is probably one of my favorite pictures because it's just oozing love. these two are so cute together.
at night after stories and before prayers, t2 and i wax poetic on the things we're thankful for. DADA! he always shouts first. i say im thankful for dada too and he follows with POOL! i say that's a good thing to be thankful for and he says CHOO CHOO! i nod.
what else i say?
WAWE! (wolly) i agree, although i usually add that wolly fits into the 'sometimes hard to love but we manage to anyway' category.
he nods in agreement.
anything else, i ask?
POP! (my dad, who seems to have permanently entered his memory log). and from here it's rapid fire - BOOKS! JUICE! POOP! (really) SHOES! an assortment of grandparents and aunts and uncles and then anything that he might of seen that day - cows, chickens, fire trucks.
wow, you're thankful for a lot! is that all, i ask?
he taps his little finger on his chin and looks up. hhhmmm, he says.
then, finally, MOMMIE! and then he wraps his arms around my neck.
dear god, thank you for little tayloe.

happy birthday to tayloe (the big one)

You’re the lucky one always havin fun
A jack of all trades a master of none
You look at the world with a smiling eye
And laugh at the devil as his train rolls by
Just give you a song and a one-night stand
And you’ll be looking at a happy man
Cause you’re the lucky one

Were you blessed? I guess
By never knowin which road you’re choosing
To you the next best thing to playin and winning
Is playin and losin

you're the lucky one, i know that now
don't ask you why when where or how
You look at the world through your smilin eye
And laugh at the devil as his train rolls by
Just give you a song and a one-night stand
And you’ll be looking at a happy man
Cause you’re the lucky one

tater, today's your birthday and i've had that song in my head all morning. it always reminds me of you. i'm glad your luck and crazy spirit are part of us. we love you.

dear little baby

i realized today that in about 8 weeks you'll be here. when you're brother was 8 weeks away from his birthday i remember thinking it seemed like an awfully long time.
it doesn't seem so long with you. in fact, it seems rather short.
there's a bathtub in your room. your crib is in pieces (sans directions) in storage and so is your changing table. our kitchen is about to be destroyed and out of commission for a few weeks and it only recently dawned on me that soon i'll need to buy a few boxes of itsy bity newborn diapers.
on the plus side, your room is painted and i have washed some of your tiny clothes and even put them away for you. but basically if you were born tomorrow ... well, let's not think about it. especially since your dad is leaving for uganda and kenya tomorrow. it just wouldn't be terribly convenient.
that's not to say i don't think about your pending arrival everyday. i do. i imagine you different from your brother and also a little bit the same, too. i'm curious about every inch of you and i can't wait for you to be here. and that isn't just because it'll mean that most of the work on our house will be done.
so forgive that sometimes the details are just lost on me. that'll stop surprising you after a while. just ask your dad.
here's a picture of you and me kiddo. i'm glad you like watermelon.

where hgtv gets you

light green walls.
pea green trim.
homemade chalkboard paint.
happy kid.

flew the coop

this was the scene last week on our front porch. a week or so ago i went to throw out that dreadful looking plant and a female song bird just about pecked my eyes out. i didn't realize there was a family in there.
the other day i was walking by the door and noticed they were moving out.
meanwhile t2's been with my parents while tayloe and i get moved in. we've been up until midnight the last two nights finishing up projects that would otherwise take weeks with a toddler on our heels. who knew working so hard could be so much fun.
the only trouble is, it's getting harder and harder for me to do really simple stuff, like bend over to pick something up. when i drop something, i honestly stand there and look at it for a few minutes, like if i stare long enough it'll spring back into my hands.
getting on and off the floor with any grace is a challenge, too. last week i took little tayloe to a magic show at the library. it was crammed packed and the only place to sit was this tiny little space on the floor. i either stepped on or knocked over every kid in that place trying to sit down. it was like moses parting the waters. when we finally got to the spot, the only way i could figure to get on the floor was to just drop down. and so i did. and the earth shook.
40 minutes later when it was over, i had to wait for everyone else to leave the room before i could get up, partially because i didn't want anyone to watch what was sure to be an episode (nothing as attractive as a pregnant lady on all fours in public) and partially because it honestly took that long for me to regain feeling in my legs and feet.