Her Favorite Friend

Do you remember your favorite friend from your childhood? I don't mean a real friend, I mean an imaginary friend. A toy even. I remember having a baby doll that I prayed for when I said my prayers. I remember that I gave her baths, which caused her eyes to stop opening and closing correctly. I feel like I should issue a public apology to my parents for any and all incidents involving said baby doll. Maybe she didn't drive them crazy. But I'm a Mommy now, and I would be willing to bet that she did.

Lorelai has a favorite friend. It started out innocent enough. She got a cute little kitten for Christmas from Aunt Jan. Nothing fancy. Just a little white cat that fits in the palm of my hand. Simple enough. And she's gotten so many little toys like that. The child has a ridiculous amount of little toys! But there must have been something about this cat, because now they are inseparable. I'm not kidding...Catty (name courtesy of the creative mind of a 2 year old) is the first thing Lo talks about when she wakes up, and the last things she asks about when she goes to sleep. Catty is everywhere. And I hate Catty.

I know, I know. I'm a terrible mother. Just tonight, while Jeremy and I were in the kitchen getting burgers ready for tomorrow, I heard Lorelai having a conversation with Catty. I shook my head and said, "I will not be sad when we lose Catty." He told me how terrible I was, and I know this to be true. But I. Hate. Catty. Yes, Lorelai loves her, and she will probably be devastated when/if anything ever happens to her. And yes, I should be sad when/if that day comes. And while it will certainly hurt my heart to see my sweet Lo upset over Catty, I will not miss her. I will probably do a little happy dance behind closed doors.

It's silly, really. She's just a little cat. She doesn't make noise or move, at least not on her own. She doesn't require batteries or maintenance. She doesn't take up a lot of room. But my sweet chatter box of a child is CONSTANTLY talking to/about Catty. She's constantly throwing her or catching her or hugging her or yelling at her. "Where Catty, Mommy?" "Catty gone get you!" "Watch Catty, Mommy!" "Look at Catty! She right they-ah!" "I want Catty, Mommy!" "Here comes her, Mommy!" 

I love Lorelai. I love her imagination. I love her spunk and her humor. I love her intensity. I love every single thing about her. 

But I. Hate. Catty

Trek Hamilton - 10 Months Old

Happy 10 months Trek-man! It is blowing my mind that my sweet baby boy is almost a year old already! He is still growing like crazy.

See what I mean?! Trek is so much fun. He changes every single day. Here are just a few things he's doing this month.

Trek, at 10 months old, you:

• weigh in at 22 lbs, and you are 29.5 inches long! You are wearing 12-18 month clothes and size 3 diapers.
• still have no teeth! Just last week I really thought we were about to see some, but I was wrong! You're taking your time, just like your sister did.
• are not very mobile. You are quite lazy, content to just sit in one spot and play all day long. Still no crawling, pulling up, or cruising. But if you are really after something, you usually find a very creative way to get to it.
• are an excellent sleeper. You take 2-3 fairly long naps a day, and sleep 8-11 hours each night! Mommy and Daddy are VERY thankful for that!
• have already had 2 haircuts, and you will soon need another one. :)
• have the cutest little laugh! You do a sweet, low-pitch giggle when something amuses you, and you are constantly laughing big belly laughs at your sister.
• are very much a people person. You do not like to be left alone, and you do not appreciate being ignored. Independent, you are not!
• have struggled a little with your health. You seem to have some type of cold or congestion every 2-3 weeks. It makes us sad, but you are such a trooper!
• can finally clap! Mommy didn't think you would ever be interested in it, but you started a couple of weeks ago. Maybe now we can work more on our signs! :)
• are fascinated with shoes, feet, and anything with wheels. 
• love dogs!

I could go on forever about our boy! Since it's been so long since a "Watch Me Grow" post, I feel like I am leaving so much out!

Just a couple of weeks ago, Trek and Lorelai started going to school full time. We were very torn over this decision, but it was one that had to be made. It was becoming a little too difficult for everyone's schedules to work with ours. It makes me sad that they're not with our family all of the time, but they are adjusting really well to school. Lorelai is loving all of the time she gets to spend outside! And she's a big hit with her teachers, since she's not afraid to open her mouth and tell them whatever she thinks they need to know! :) And I am really loving having them in the same hallway with me every day. I can go sneak a peek and steal a kiss whenever I want! We are more than thankful for the 2+ years that our families have given to care for our children. There is absolutely no way we could every express our gratitude, and we will forever be grateful for the sacrifices they've made for us and for our babies.

My kids are growing so fast! Way too fast for my liking! Lorelai is completely potty trained, and she is definitely entering her "terrible twos." While she's certainly not terrible, she is figuring out that she can try and bend the rules. Sometimes she's little Miss Defiant. But mostly she's still our sweet girl. She gives much more love, hugs, and kisses than she ever has before, and I am LOVING that! 

It's been said a thousand times before, but these kids change so quickly! If I blink, I miss it. I am so fortunate that I am able to spend so much time with them. Yes, I work...sometimes very long days. But I have holidays and time with them that others don't have with their children. For every moment, I am thankful.

It's Movie Night!

More often than not, my evenings pass in such a blur, that I don't even really know what I've done until I'm drifting off to sleep and making my to-do list for the next day. Most of them consist of cooking and cleaning up after dinner, changing diapers, bathing kids, taming toddler tantrums, and finally getting the kids to bed, usually before 8:30. There may even be the occasional load of laundry or quick sweep and mop of the floors before I finally drag myself to bed, sometime between 9:00 and 11:00. Before you roll your eyes and click away, this isn't a pity party, I promise. Hang with me!

It seems like I've been seeing a lot of posts of Facebook and Twitter about movie nights lately. You know the ones... "Snuggled up with my babies watching a movie!" or "Curled up on the couch with my loves for movie night!" I don't know about you, but these posts make me want to throw up in my mouth just a little. Not because I think movie nights or snuggles are silly. No way. It likely stems from fierce jealousy. Who do these people think they are?! Don't they have responsibilities?! How in the world is their house so clean and their children so well-behaved?! Or the best one yet...I must not love my kids because we NEVER have movie night! Well, no more excuses! Tonight, we were doing a movie night!

The idea came to me while the 4 of us were hanging out on the kitchen floor. It seems that we've been spending a lot of time there lately. Trek really enjoys the toys we have on the refrigerator, so that's usually where we "drop" him while we unload everything else at the end of the day. Then it seems like we all end up in the floor for at least a minute or two, discussing dinner plans, sharing about our day, and stealing kisses from the kiddos. It's a lot of fun really, and I'm often tempted to stay there until bedtime! Stupid responsibilities...

So Jeremy was going to be gone, and the kids and I were going to get in our PJs early, make a pallet in the floor of blankets and pillows, and snuggle up to enjoy a movie. I pictured it in my head perfectly. We would laugh and eat cheese balls (per Lorelai's request) and Jeremy would find us all cuddled up and fast asleep when he got home. And that's exactly how it happened...in my head.

Everyone did actually cooperate really well at first! Lorelai didn't find anything to complain about, and Trek was full and happy when we turned off the lights and sat down to start the movie. We were all giggling and playing and dancing to the music. It really was perfect! Lorelai is such a goof ball, so she broke out her fake laugh before the previews were even over. (Yes, we watched previews. We took it old school and watched a VHS tonight! *gasp*). Trek thinks his sister is hilarious, so he cracked up every time she laughed! We were definitely enjoying ourselves. And then it happened. My sweet boy got sick. He got really sick! To say it was everywhere would be an understatement. Just like that, our snuggles and giggles were over, and my brain switched to "gotta-get-things-done" mode.

Everybody needed a bath, and everything had to be washed. Thankfully, both kids were extremely cooperative, and by 8:00, Trek was cozy in his bed, and Lorelai was dancing to "Bibbity-bobbity-boo" in her clean PJs. The best part of our evening came when my sweet girl crawled into my lap and fell asleep snuggled against my neck. I could have put her to bed immediately. I knew she was exhausted and I wouldn't bother her by moving her. But I just couldn't bring myself to do it. Instead, we laid together for almost an hour. I tried my best to memorize everything about holding my Lorelai. I couldn't help but steal kisses and thank God for every single second of our night together.

So maybe we didn't have the perfect movie night. Maybe we didn't even make it to Cinderella's breakfast delivery. Maybe we never got to eat those cheese balls. But we did make some wonderful memories!