the baby is 3

For Angus's birthday (May 1st) this year we decided to leave him with my mom along with all the other kids and take a much needed mini vacay. We celebrated him today. It's fine. He has no idea when or what his birthday is.

I think I'm more excited about his birthday than he is. In fact I know I am. Three years old means I am done with toddlers. I've never had a 3 year old without having to look after a younger sibling. It's new territory for me. Angus is potty trained, sleeping in a big boy bed and can buckle himself into his carseat. So basically my job is done here. I'm soooooo excited about not having any more diapers to change. And it's pretty awesome that the kids can all get in the car and buckle without much help. Even though I have to kindly remind them 15 times. But I feel like I'm moving into phase two of motherhood; which is mostly parenting with my voice instead of the physically demanding job of raising babies and toddlers. Of course there will be the occasional tackle when needed. Like when I see Angus with an open sharpie in his hand.

Angus has done an amazing job with potty training and staying in his bed. He is totally done with pull-ups. They are completely dry after every nap AND in the morning. Amazing. That's all him by the way. I did nothing to keep him dry all night. I actually encouraged peeing in his pull-up instead of waking me up to help him go potty. I still put pull-ups on just in case he decides to regress. We have a costco size box. May as well use it.

Oh and I started using this magical color changing nightlight that turns green when it's time to get up. Hands down the hardest alarm clock you will ever figure out how to use. BUT it actually worked and he now stays in his bed until the light turns green at 5:45AM. That was our compromise. He likes to get up before 5:00 and I want him in bed until 6:00.

So little man is 3. I was looking on Pinterest for a cute questionnaire to ask him for his 3rd birthday. I found one that looked pretty basic. The lady’s kid in the Pinterest one who also just turned 3 actually knew what she was asking and answered appropriately. I knew Angus wouldn’t. I don’t spend much time teaching him things like his name or how old he is. He's the fourth kid. The world is his teacher. He has somehow learned his colors though. And he knows the difference between a backhoe and a skid steer. I do not.

So here's my interview with my new 3 year old:

What is your name? Two (close)

How old are you? I no no (I think he knows)

What’s your favorite thing to do?  Chrucksss. Mommy where’s my chrucksss?

What’s your favorite food?  Ummm wice (but it's really mac & cheese)

What’s your favorite drink?  Eat (loves juice)

What’s your favorite color?  Bown poopoo (he likes blue)

What’s your favorite animal?  Back doggie (Otter)

What’s your favorite tv show?  I no no... tha one. Random show that was on. (He's getting annoyed with the questions at this point)

What is your favorite book?  Ummm wed one (No idea which one the red one is. I don't read to him. Winter does.)

Who’s your best friend?  Chrucks! (true)

What makes you happy?  Mommy! (also true)

What makes you sad?  Wed mean no. (When his nightlight is red, it means no getting out of bed yet) 

What do you want to be when you grow up?  Doggie! - *hug attacks Otter* (could be true)

And there you have it. 

Happy 3rd Son!

I actually teared up looking at these old pics. See honey I don't have a heart of ice. 

spills, slurpees and toothpaste etc.

The other day something out of the ordinary happened. I was able to shower, do my hair and get dressed and look like someone who put effort in to her appearance. I got it into my head that there were no pictures of me like this ever taken in the last 10 years and I really wanted my kids to have a picture of their mom that didn't look like she was annoyed and sleep deprived. So I had to take one. My Texas BFF Annie got me that cool doohickey mentioned in the previous blog that allows me to snap selfies bluetooth style. So I tried that downstairs on my way out the door... Angus happened.

So after church I went upstairs real quick and locked the door and took a quick pic while Angus banged on the door. 

Then I changed back into my mom uniform. Cut off jean shorts and a loose Tee. Hair pulled back. Flip flops on. Time to mom. Go Dodgers.

The big girls got to go see their new baby cousin last week. It's crazy to think that all of mine started out that small. 

That is Angus's bowl upside down on the floor and milk on the chair. I am so happy we have hardwood floors. I don't know how many times a day I hear Angus say "Mommy I peeeeeew!" (spilled) 

I don't think I would have had so many kids if we had carpet. And I buy a Costco supply of baby wipes. I think I've used more baby wipes to clean up messes than to actually wipe baby butts. 

And in case there is any question, Angus is wearing underwear. 

I took the girls to Target for their 1st slurpy the other day. I know. They are totally deprived. Mya couldn't even finish it. Probably because she's not used to drinking liquid sugar.

Having a tea (apple juice) party with the neighbors. I've always been super lucky to have older neighbor girls entertain my little ones. And it's crazy but they seem to enjoy it. 

I love this picture so much. This is Dan breaking the news to Addie that she's going to have to pick up her toys. She is not happy. And Winter's like, yeah I'm not helpin'. 

I went to do my rounds before bed a few nights ago. I always love to see them all four sleeping. It makes me feel like I've accomplished something. 

Angus fell asleep with a cozy skid steer on his arm.

Addie was trying to read I guess.

Winter hung a pink monkey above her head.

And Mya. Winter and Addie are afraid of the dark and Mya cannot stand nightlights so she's been sleeping with one of these on.

Product of the week: Native deodorant. Kind of pricey compared to the popular deodorants out there but it's all natural, smells devine and doesn't cause cancer or leave yellow pit stains on your shirts. Sometimes when no one is looking I take a sniff of my armpit because it smells so good. Two thumbs up. Gym tested! And they have these cute little travel sizes available.

Another helpful bit of information a friend told me about recently is this. There is an ingredient in many toothpastes called SLS (Sodium lauryl sulfate) and it is linked to problems with canker sores. Read this article for more info. (It's an old article but still true) I've always had issues with canker sores and they drive me nuts so I was excited that something may help prevent them. I used to get them like once a month or so but I switched to an SLS free toothpaste and now I rarely get them. And when I do, they last for a day or so instead of a week like before. 

I didn't go with a natural toothpaste because most of them are fluoride free and I personally need the flouride because my teeth are prone to cavities. I found that the Sensodyne toothpaste they sell at Costco doesn't have SLS but it DOES have fluoride so that's what I use. 

You can always check the ingredients in your toothpaste to make sure. Please share this info with anyone you know that gets canker sores frequently. It sucks to have them. 

Happy Wednesday! ❤️

kid update - april 2018

Mya and Winter brought home some spring photos from school last week. Some school photographers are doing a sneaky thing these days by taking pictures of your kids weather you order them or not and sending them home to you and making you send them back or pay an arm and a leg. Kind of wrong in my opinion because most parents probably buy them once they see a picture of their pride and joy with a fun springy background. But hey, that's the idea. Whatevs. 

I looked at the pictures and the fake smiles and thought, man those are not my kids at all. But what does that photographer know? He doesn't even know them. 

So I decided I'd better send the photos back to the school (after taking a pic with my phone of course) and dust off the ol' Cannon and shoot some pics that actually show what they're real natural everyday expressions are. And while I'm at it, may as well document their 2018 personalities. They are ever growing and ever changing awesome little people. 

Angus (almost 3) talks A LOT. All day long. If he's awake he's talking about something. His immediate family members are the only ones who can understand him a lot of the time. He follows me around frequently and asks me what I'm doing, even when I'm on the toilet. When he's upset, he asks to watch truck videos in my bed. That always makes him feel better. Frequently, he'll have a meltdown, then suddenly stand up and say, "I'm otay" and walk away.

Common Angus phrases include:

Who Dat?!

Ooooo niiiice pant! (plant)

Ayeeee YIME OW!! (Addie timeout)

I wuuuuuv chruxxx! (trucks) He says that when I put him to bed.

He likes to sleep with random things including a lime, a mail key, plastic easter eggs, a tiny minion figurine and a basket of trucks of course. These days he is loud and full of emotion and expression. He insists on doing everything himself including many things he cannot do but he has to try before I take over. His hobbies include riding his balance bike, playing with trucks, playing with playdough, stealing Addie's toys and running away as fast as he can, drawing on walls, drawing on Addie and sometimes drawing on paper.

Addie (4.5) lives life at a 10. If she's happy, she's ecstatic. If she's mad, she's fuming. If she's talking, she's yelling. If she's pouting, she's giving you 10 reasons why she's upset. She has a giant personality in a teeny package. Addie is a sponge. She remembers everything I say and can repeat it back to me weeks later. She says everything she's thinking. Her favorite person in the world is Winter. And her favorite activity is still playing Barbies with Winter. 

She often tells me my food looks "DEEESGUSTING." She asks me the name of every song she hears in the car. She's the biggest hugger of all my kids and hugs as tight as she possibly can. When I am frustrated and make an irritated grunt, she says, Oh mom you're so funny. And yesterday she told me a story that lasted all the way from our house, to the girls' school and back to the house again. (25 mins) She wasn't even done but I had to cut her off. Like Angus, Addie is also loud and full of emotion and expression. Her hobbies include playing with little figurines and acting out very elaborate stories, playing barbies with Winter, chasing Angus around the house, talking, singing and eating snacks.

Winter (7) is a lover of life. She is a free spirit that goes where the wind takes her. Things are different in Winter's world than the world we actually live in. Rules are suggestions and anything is acceptable as long as it makes sense to Winter. Here are a few examples that have taken place in the last month or so. 

Our neighbor Gabe had just finished blowing all the leaves nearby into a nice big pile with a leaf blower. He put it down and went to get something to put the leaves in. Winter came by and saw the leaf blower unattended, turned it on and blew that nice big pile of leaves all over the neighborhood. I came outside and saw Winter down the street blowing the leaves around. I could see her giant smile 8 houses down. I thought, Awe how nice of someone to let her have a turn with their leaf blower. Gabe came out and just shook his head. And then he smiled because he's known Winter since she was 3 and of course she would do that.

Winter is a lover of all animals, even bugs. If she could have 100 pets, she totally would. And she would probably even keep them alive. One day Mari went out in her backyard to see Winter pushing her desert tortoise in the baby swing. She quickly rescued the poor thing as I'm sure it was having a tortoise heart attack. Winter thought it was having so much fun. What animal wouldn't jump at the chance to take a ride in a swing?

And just last week, Winter was walking our dog Otter and decided to visit a neighbor she'd met a few days prior who had a little dog named pearl. She knocked on the door, the lady answered and pearl escaped and bolted down the street. Winter ran after the dog with our black lab running beside her. Thankfully Mari came home and sent one of her daughters to grab Otter while Winter retrieved Pearl. Winter came home and said sorry sorry sorry! She knew that was probably not the best idea in hindsight. 

Winter is happy, playful and full of emotion and expression like her little siblings. She's not loud like the littles thankfully. I'm not sure I could handle one more loud kid. Her heart is giant and she feels things deeply. You will often see her eyes fill up with tears when watching a sad movie. Winter's hobbies include doing anything with animals like walking the dogs or feeding Mari's parakeets. She also enjoys chasing boys, eating meat, cooking, baking, dance parties and playing barbies with Addie.

Mya (8.5) has just discovered the word 'hangry.' I figured it out the other day that when she is hungry she is a different person. It took a while for me to realize that food (and a hug) could cure her bad mood. Mya is a sweetheart, most of the time. I just thought it was part of her personality. Poor thing was just starving. 

Mya is the type of gal to have just a few close friends and she loves those friends with her whole heart. She had a playdate the other day. Her bestie came over to play after school and she was the happiest girl ever. They had a blast painting their nails, riding scooters, eating snacks and watching Tangled (Mya's hair inspiration). 

Mya is attached to Dan these days. They share lots of common interests like puzzles, ACDC songs, computer games and gnawing on lamb bones. She admittedly loves her dad more than me right now. But I'm totally okay with that. I love that they have a great relationship. She loves it when I go to the store so they can crank up ACDC until I come home and roll my eyes and they both smile and Dan turns it off. Mya does not like being a kid. She wants to grow up so she can curl her hair, wear makeup, go shopping, have her own phone and hang out with grownups.

She is sweet, caring, loyal, sensitive, inquisitive and helpful. Her hobbies include helping me fold laundry, playing computer games with Dan, making crafts, cooking, singing and fake tap dancing (ever since she watched Shirley Temple). She also LOVES going to the thrift store with her mama. =)