where have I been?

I thought SURELY I had blogged about Halloween.  DEFINITELY sometime in November.  Nope!  Woopsie daisy!  I'll blame it on the lack of simultaneous napping from the kids. Also, after the boys go to sleep I usually head to the couch or the bed since my computer desk just ain't quite as comfy.

Well, Halloween was fun!  Except the evening earlier that week that we were supposed to go to a friend's party to carve pumpkins and Palmer barfed all over the house.  Actual Halloween night was much less messy.  Palmer the dinosaur did a good job trick or treating, though some houses spooked him a bit.  Russell was happy to be carried around, looking cute as could be in Palmer's old elephant costume.

Speaking of dinosaurs, we saw some in McKinney!  I was expecting loud, choppy robotics from the animatronic dinosaurs at the Heard Museum, but they were truly impressive.  Perfect outdoor activity for a chilly fall morning.  Palmer forgot how to pick up his feet and shuffled through leaves on the trails, and Russell enjoyed the sights while cozily wrapped on my back.  Of course with the grandmas there, we made it home with some great dino souvenirs.

We've been spending many a day at home since it's just simpler that way with the boys napping at different times.  Getting outside breaks up the day and keeps everyone from screaming at each other too much!  (Mommy included.)  Sometimes putting shoes on is not on the agenda, though, and they ransack the house, looking cute in their woolies while mommy takes pictures.

Thanksgiving was nice and easy this year.  For me at least since I didn't host ;).  We spent time in Plano on Thursday and Lewisville on Friday so we got to have two big delicious meals and lots of good family time.  Palmer loved the rolls at Kay Kay's and would have eaten a whole chocolate pie at Mimi's if we let him!  Potty training was a bit of a battle (read: lots of accidents/crying/refusal to potty) over the holiday but we made it through without taking too many steps backwards.

Can't wait for more fun at Christmas- which will be here SO soon!!

it's FALL!

I used to be a summer person.  After lifeguarding for 6 years, the heat didn't phase me.  Fast forward to pregnant life with a toddler and a baby and I was a hermit all summer.  I'm so glad to have the heat gone and be free to actually go outside in the AFTERNOON.  Revolutionary.  Another bonus to cooler weather is getting to pull out the boys' new woolies for the winter.  Love me some sustainablebabyish longies!  If you're not in the cloth diapering world, what I said probably makes no sense.  ;)  Anyway, yay Fall!!!  I love the crispness in the mornings and the hot slow cooked dinners. Mmmm.  Not to mention the family time and baked goods.  Tyler and I have been discussing names for baby girl and I just love the name Autumn!  I could be getting a tad caught up in the weather change.

Geared up to watch a game at Kay Kay's!

our fall look

one of the few times he wasn't crawling toward the street

On to the boys.  Russell is BUSY.  And sometimes cranky.  But mostly busy and happy!!  He is getting his bottom molars, working up the guts to walk, chasing his big brother around all the time, and having meltdowns when I won't let him play in the dishwasher.  (Substitute the word dishwasher with freezer, toilet, trash can, all equally desirable).  Russell imitates lots of words and likes to mimic animal noises and brother screaming.  He knows all-done in baby sign language and communicates the end of a meal well by dropping all his food on the floor.  We're working on weaning him off of the bottle, but I have a feeling the pre-nap and and bedtime bottles are here to stay for a few more months.  It puts him to sleep.  Which is a precious precious thing.

Russell can't wait to keep up with Palmer!

SANDBOX!!

sweetie

another sweetie. . . yes that's a cat tree in the background

Palmer finally loves school!  This week has been an epiphany for him.  He's actually excited to go to MDO on Tuesdays and Thursdays.  I love hearing from his teachers what they've been doing and I'm so glad it's no longer a stressful thing for him.  Palmer loves his planes and trains right now and it's a constant battle with baby Russell to not dismantle the train tracks.  Lots of shrieking and yelling involved during train play.  I do my best to mediate and stay patient through all the sibling conflicts that are ALREADY coming up!  Nobody told me the fighting starts so early!  Palmer is constantly learning to share better, and Russell is learning to push his brother's buttons.  Deep breaths.  Of course they are so fun and precious and a joy to have around too!

trying to correct his spill

cheesy grin

growling is his new noise 

just being handsome

flying his Dusty Crophopper glider

wooooo!

and into the ground goes Dusty

Russell is ONE!

Russell had a very special first birthday and I can't believe it's already passed and over!  We started the festivities with mini cupcakes on his actual birthday, Thursday the 26th, after dinner with our little family of 4.  Russell also got to open his presents from mom and dad that big brother Palmer helped wrap earlier in the day.  He got a few cute board books that will be getting a lot of bedtime attention I'm sure.

A tired boy on his birthday night

Mini cupcake yumminess

I'm committed to making each of their first birthday cakes a little fancy!  Two down.

Playing while mommy & daddy cleaned up for the party

Saturday we were so happy to have lots of family over for his official party!  Some even drove from Oklahoma for the occasion :).  Russell was a little tired, but enjoyed some pizza, cake, and lots of attention.  Palmer did a pretty good job of letting Russell have the spot light and showed some impressive restraint during present time.  We encouraged him to help quite a bit and he liked blowing out Russell's candle and giving him the next gift to tear into!

Cutie!!!

Wardrobe change and some new bath toys

He was seriously interested in the instructions on this one.

Musical turtle- we're going to be hearing this song a lot!

Our sweet little one year old loves to crawl into mommy's lap, upend piles of laundry, EAT, and put things in and out of containers.  He's been wanting to be held lately on account of some molar teething pain, so we've been getting back to wrapping more.  I "wear" him into MDO for Palmer's drop off and pick ups and he is just happy as a clam up on my back in a rucksack carry, or on my side in a rebozo hip carry.  It takes just about the same amount of time to wrap him up as it does to stick him in a stroller, but keeps him close to me (where he wants to be) and lets my hands be free!  I don't care to wrestle a stroller through the glass doors and crowds.

Russell's 1 year doctor visit went well!  He recovered quickly from the horrifying surprise of immunizations and got rave developmental reviews from the doctor.  We recently got health insurance through Tyler's new job, enabling us to get immunizations at the pediatrician instead of having to make a separate trip to the county clinic.  The staff always treated us well over there, but the convenience of getting shots at the well visits will be sooooo nice.  This will be especially true when baby girl arrives since they go to the doctor so often when they're tiny.  County clinic waiting room with a newborn, 1 year old, and 3 year old. . . we're lucky to have another option now!!

give and take

Having two little ones so close in age is fun, exhausting, and chaotic. A year into it, I feel like I have a really good handle on. . . the reality that it's just impossible to do everything!  Or even most things!  Some days we have homemade bread with dinner.  Some days we have clean counters and dishes.  Some days the hampers are practically empty.  These things NEVER happen on the same day!!!  If one thing IS getting done during that precious 20 minutes when both boys are playing happily in the other room, there are always ten things not getting done at the same time.

I'm ok with not doing it all, all the time, because if I did, I would probably be missing the good stuff.  Like seeing the wonder on my 11 month old's face as he takes the lid on and off the same container 700 times to find the toy inside.  Or spending half the day at a playdate catching up with other moms even though we left the house a huge mess after breakfast.  I'm glad the potted plants withering in my backyard and the Cheerios all over the floor don't bother me enough to skip building a new train track with Palmer during Russell's nap.

I probably could have been cleaning the bathroom sinks, fixing a photo worthy pinterest lunch creation, or scraping the goopy banana out of the high chair, but I just watched the babies play piano for a while this day. 

This day Palmer wore a shirt that's almost too small and the ONLY pair of clean shorts he had for his first day of school this year.  Oh, and his new backpack didn't come in the mail til the next day.  Woops!

Striving for perfection is overrated.  When you give time to certain areas of your life, that time gets taken away from others.  Let's give more to times like these.