Bedtime Blues

Bedtime and nap time at our house have been terrible for the past week. Up until then we could read a few books to the boys, put them in their beds, kiss them good night and walk out. They would play in their cribs and laugh and act silly until they would finally settle down and go to sleep. Well, Gary went to Louisiana for a week and a half with his grandmother where he got rocked to sleep for naps and went to bed with her at night. In short, he got spoiled. His homecoming gift to his little brother was a nasty cold. So, between Gary's new need for companionship while he drifts off into dreamland and Will's misery and snotty nose neither one wants to go to sleep the easy way. For the past week, Gary and I have been lying on the floor next to their cribs until they go to sleep. It works, but it takes a huge chunk out of our time to ourselves. Sometimes it takes an hour or longer for them to go to sleep. Ugh!

Christmas Morning 2007

Christmas this year has been kind of a blur, but it was fun and memorable, and I have plenty of pictures to show for it. My husband, Gary, was injured at work December 3rd and has been home convalescing since then. He's the one who usually climbs through the scuttle hole into the attic to dig out the fake tree and the boxes and boxes of ornaments. He wasn't able to do it this year, so I waited until my brother was here to help me, and I went up there Christmas Eve. We got down a tiny 3 ft tree and a few ornaments and let the boys think that Santa put up the tree for us. Of course, for his labor he was paid the handsome wage of two pieces of fudge and a glass of milk.

We had a quiet, okay maybe not quiet, simple Christmas at home—our little family and my brother, Rick. 

The boys woke up around 7 am. I sent my husband down to wake Uncle Rick whose job it was to video the boys seeing the gifts that Santa left. We played until we were famished, stopped to eat, and then opened more gifts. It was a fun day. I think Gary understood a little about Santa. We watched all the usual cartoon specials and read books about Santa and Rudolph and went to see Santa at the mall. Next year will be very cool. Hopefully he'll remember some of today and will be able to anticipate the stocking and the gifts and the festivities. Next year I will have this year's pictures to show him. 

Will didn't understand any of the Santa business, but he understands toys. He was all over the place checking out all the cool stuff, mostly all his brother's cool stuff. He has a cold, so he was a little grumpier than usual. Poor thing. Thank God for photo editing. I had to erase snot from several pictures. YUCK!

An introduction to Will, my baby

OK. My little one's name is William Everett, and he was born June 13, 2006. His older brother was only 17 months old at the time and still very much a baby himself. Suddenly we had two cribs and two babies in diapers. We were preparing two bottles, buying a double stroller and trading our sedan for a minivan. It was a different world. I remember thinking that life was challenging with one baby, and all of a sudden that seemed absurd. I soon was longing for those single-baby days when I could get a shower or talk on the phone while my little one napped. Not anymore! For the first 6 or 7 months of Will's life, the boys were on completely different napping schedules, so there was no rest for the weary. And I was very weary.

Oh, back to telling you about my adorable Bubba (very country, I know,  but that is what his big brother calls him). We settled on his name before he was born, and I told my husband that I wanted to call him "Billy" after by dad if he was born with red hair (lots of red hair on that side of the family). Gary, my husband, didn't like the idea, but I think he was pretty confident that he didn't have to worry about Will being born with red hair as his is blonde and mine is dark brown. Well, Will is a carrot-top for sure. I was thrilled about his hair color, but I could tell right away that I wasn't going to have my way with his nickname. So, he's Will, well, when he's not Bubba. He started walking at 11 1/2 months and hasn't slowed down yet. He's always in 5th gear--moving fast and letting the world know he's here. He loves to yell and grunt, not in the obnoxious tantrum kind of way, just as a way of communicating. You know, like he's Leo DiCaprio standing on the bow of the Titanic yelling, "I'm king of the world!" That's Bubba. He's king of the world.

He weighs the exact same as his big brother to within a tenth of a pound, and he's almost as tall. He walks like a body builder whose thighs are too large, and sometimes he strikes a pose that looks just like a sumo wrestler getting ready to fight--feet spread far apart, hands on bent knees, look on his face that seems to say, "Here I come! Hope you're ready for me." He isn't talking yet except for the occasional "mama". That may be, in part, because of his fondness for his pacifier. I have started leaving it in the bed between waking in the morning and the afternoon nap. We'll see how it goes. When he wakes up from nap, there's no taking it from him without a fight, so I'm taking it slowly.

Let me say more about Will's beautiful physical attributes. He has an underbite, but it's adorable, at least until I start having to pay for braces. His eyes are huge blue saucers that suck you in and make you fall in love with him. He walks around with a permanent look of wonder on his face--eyebrows raised and mouth open. His uncle says he looks like W.C. Fields. I'm not in agreement. 

Will is sweet and funny and loving and very inquisitive--all the makings for a perfect little boy.

An introduction to Will, my baby

How about a short introduction to my boys? Gary was born January 18, 2005, so he is quickly approaching his 3rd birthday. He is smart and funny and quirky and loving and small and blonde and beautiful. You could swim in his big blue eyes. His hair is curly, and he twists it while he's drinking or falling asleep. As a result, unless he in just from the tub, his hair is usually big and wild. He awakes from his naps looking like he slept in pin curls. Normally, the first thing he says when he wakes up is, "Shhh, Bubba" or "Shhh, Dada." He assumes that he is the first one up, and someone else is sleeping and shouldn't be disturbed. Isn't he thoughtful? Next he will say either, "Dada home" or "Dada no(t) home." This is not a question. He says it matter-of-factly and then waits for me to confirm or contradict his guess. It will go something like this. Gary: "Dada home." Mommy: "Yep. He's downstairs eating cheese doodles. Let's go get one." or Gary: "Dada no(t) home.

Mommy: "Nope. He's still at work. Let's go eat his cheese doodles before he gets home." A quick word about no(t): Gary doesn't place ending sounds on most of his words, so I will try to help you out by filling in the gaps. This is a diary for me as much as it is a shared experience, and I want to remember the details. I'm running out of battery time, so I'll have to tell you more about Gary and all about Will, aka "Bubba", tomorrow.