MyLittleBoySunshine

Zachy was trying to ride the trike yesterday. He fell off. Dad brought him in crying. I tried to comfort him, but he'd have none of it. We went back outside to investigate. He wiggled, frantically trying to get down. I let him down and he got right back on. Right back on the trike that he'd gotten twisted under just minutes earlier. And fell again. But got right back. GoZachyGo!

Get him on the tottrike, he really goes.



The boy is determined.  He's independent and when he wants something or is really interested, he's unstoppable and focused. Leave him for a second, and who knows what you'll come back to.

This weekend we went to Tsunami on the Square, a performing arts festival at the courthouse. He was really focused....not too sure on what though.

And would randomly wander off.

And then he discovered lemonade.

Last night we went to the store right before bedtime, just he and I. Mackenzie got a bit upset, which I am sure he understood. And liked. He was so darn cute during the drive and in the store. I tend to go off alone more often with Mackenzie these days, which is why I think he got such a kick out of it.

On the way home, I started singing You Are My Sunshine, which usually he sings along too, but, instead, he said No Sunshine! as he laughed. He can tell me to stop, yet he is, and will always be, My Little Boy Sunshine.

TotpreschoolHappenings

Just a few cute totpreschool happenings to get down on 'paper.' So, bullet points seem to be the way to do it, especially with how busy our days have been. Busy = Good! Things are good.

• Zachy is in a baaaddddd sleep phase. Involving lots of screaming. Need I say more?
• The other day, before leaving for a birthday party, Mackenzie yelled out: Let's rock and roll to the party!
• At naptime the other day I put Rufus in Zach's room. It helped. Tried again at bedtime. No luck.
• Zachy loves to sing songs before bed. It's so dang sweet.
• Mackenzie has been quite the 'helper' lately. Always looking for jobs to do. Until a tv show comes she likes. Then she takes a little rest.
• We've had a series of mishaps this morning, resulting in Mackenzie using the word issue a lot.
• I can't play. I'm working.
• Mackenzie said Zachy was 'melting down.' Spoken from personal experience.
• Mom and Dad have the same phone, slightly different colors. Zachy knows and when he sees them will them back to their rightful owner. Herego, phone.
• When we are getting ready to go somewhere, I usually yell out, Let's G-O...GO! or 1, 2, 3 Let's DO-IT! Mackenzie now says the whole things along with me and Zachy will yell out either the GO! part or the DO-IT! part. It's cute. Trust me.
• Zachy gets this crazy manic thing going where he runs to the bed in the playroom, gets on it, jumps and then bangs his head into the pillows. Laughs. And does it all again. And again.
• When I don't let Mackenzie have something, she will look at me with big eyes and say, Just say oh-kay!
• One day Zachy had a new kind of diaper, with Mickey and Minnie. He looked at them, pointed and yelled CATE! Asked her Mom and, sure enough, Cate wears 'em. Perceptive little guy.
• Yesterday Mackenzie suggested we go to play at Tess's house. I think she tried to get what she wanted by suggesting that I go play with my friend, who just happens to be Ari's mom.
• Zachy combines two words a lot now. Most of his combinations contain the word no, mine or both.
• Sometimes when she wakes up in the morning, almost always first, Mackenzie wakes me up by saying, I love you, Momma. Is that an awesome way to wake up, or what?

Busy weekend. Tsunami on the Square today and tomorrow is Father's Day. Looking forward to funFunFUN.

Zachy'sFavoriteThings

It's been awhile since we've gone over favorite things. Zachy, in particular, has gotten very particular about 'things.' He has definite preferences. And, is very vocal about them. Especially if they are disrupted.

In no particular order...

• Thomas the Train. He lovesLovesLOVES Thomas. Before he even saw the cartoon. And even more since.
• Accordingly, he loves his Thomas the Train pajamas. He wants to wear no others.
• Of course, this all means he loves his Thomas the Train 'train toy.'
• Soy beans.
• Bell peppers, raw.
• Ham.
• His pillow pets - all THREE (two big and one small). When he gets up from sleeping, he throws them all out of his crib and then wants them moved to whatever room he's going to be in next. It's a lot of work.
• Barney AND the Wiggles. Oh my. Say what you want. I know there are much 'cooler' shows out there, but if you really need a toddler under the age of two to be entertained, those'll do it.
• His Momma. Right now he's in a total Momma phase. As a result, I am back to doing things pretty much with one hand.
• Sand. Dirt. Water. Mud.
• Running and falling down.
• Being tickled. I can hear his laugh and see his face. Purejoy.
• Playing ball.
• Ashamed, but not just milk, he really wants Chocolate Milk and makes his wants known. Loudly. Clearly.
• Last but definitely not least...Gunky. Still important. Still Number One. And, still as Gunky as the name implies.

MishMashFromTown

So far behind...but today seems like a good day for a MishMash...

• Zachy was up every two hours last night. Reminded me of the good ol' days until I remembered that back then he was up every four hours. For the first year of his life. Not the same. Not at all.
• Went to Walmart. Kids got toothbrushes. Cheap dates.
• Mackenzie picked a Spider Man toothbrush. I had no idea she knew who he was. Or Snow White or Cinderella for that matter.
• Mackenzie took a bag with two changes of shoes. She did in fact change her shoes during our short stay. Twice.
• We're taking a casserole over to Momma Julie. Mackenzie is going to share a princess band-aid. What a good friend!
• Zachy understands 'turns.' Yesterday I was mopping and he frantically said, Turn, Turn. Only problem was, once it was his 'turn,' the turn-taking was over.
• Just got back from Momma Julie's. Mackenzie wore her bathing suit. Zachy fearlessly tried to ride a big kid bike.
• Yesterday Zachy helped me mop.  Today Mackenzie helped me clean the bathroom. Lucky me. I'll leave it at that.
• My kids make me smile. Each and every day they do something. A lot.
• Mackenzie's play is revolving around a cell phone. I am ashamed. Okay, I'm not, but I should be.
• Aw, Mackenzie just walked up to me and said Mommy, I don't want to be a Mommy or a Daddy anymore. What do you want to be now, I asked. Just a kid.
• Mackenzie and Zachy got to meet a potential babysitter friend. She (M) wow'd her with her poopy talk and Tinkerbell play. Zachy wow'd them with his chatter. He gets so serious.
• Family went to Red Robin tonight. Once the kids at the next table got balloons, it was all over.
• Zachy didn't want to go to bed tonight. So he engaged me in a game of strollers. If I tried to stop, he'd grab my hand and place it back on my stroller. And then crash his into mine. And yell Crash!
• After the crash game, he engaged me in a tickle game. 'Gain, 'gain he said while laughing hysterically with that cute Zachy giggle.
• Before we moved, I told Mackenzie we were moving to 'town,' so now she calls our new home 'Town.' It sounds really cute when she says it.

Both kids are happy and asleep. Another fine day.

Motorcyles&Trains

Mackenzie has never been one to get attached to anything. No transition object for her. No lovey. No special blankie or binkie. Zachy has his beloved Gunky. He wakes up in the middle night and cries if he can't find him in the crib. He sits him down at mealtime. He pushes him in the stroller. He looks for Gunky. He asks for Gunky. He loves Gunky.

Not Mackenzie. We used to say she had an entourage of items. Now, she's 3 1/2 and I think she has found the item. It's a guy on a two inch motorcycle. We got it at Big Lots. It's not snuggly at all. It gets easily lost, which is a bummer for me. Seems she has to have him around at all times. Yikes, she sounds like a teenager already. I hope this isn't a sign of what's to come.

So, where do the trains fit in? When were at Big Lots, Mackenzie got her motorcycle guy and Zachy got a Thomas the Train. Whenever he sees Mackenzie holding her motorcycle guy, he asks for his train. I love the way he associates the two. When it comes down to it though, he's a Gunky loyalist. Mackenzie....we'll just have to wait and see. For today, it's definitely the motorcycle.

BulletPointMommaReporting

 I know, I said it last week, I am so neglectful right now. And you guys are as cute as ever. This whole moving thing has me preoccupied. Hugely.

Although I have been lagging on the blogfront, I have been posting and status updating on Twitter and Facebook and writing things down when I get the chance.

So, what I'm going to do, for today, is yet another cop out post full of bullet points. That's right, I'm totally a 'Bullet-Point Momma.' Better than nothing, right? And an easy way to post a bunch of happenings.

This, my sweet babies, is just a very little bit of what's been going on (and not necessarily in order...sorry!):

• mackenzie just made herself a PB&J with cheese. she says it's good. i'll take her word for it.
• okay. time to get grounded in reality. last week i was preoccupied with house buying. this week i need to be a mom again. zachy and mackenzie - who took over while i was 'gone' - will be very very disappointed I'm sure.
• thanks to my being completely distracted this last week, mackenzie has started to 'take care of'' zachy. that's the good news. and the bad news.
• you know it's bad when she asks if they can have juice. he starts yelling ju! ju! i say no. it gets quiet. five minutes later they both come walking up to me, laughing, with juice boxes.
• z  just saw his 1st medevac in the field behind us. he's excited. nothing like a plane landing in your backyard for a 20 mo old.
• mackenzie: is it spring? me: yes. mackenzie: does that mean the fever is going to come out? and the chipmunks?
• z can be fine and happy and the minute he hears my voice, it's all over..mommmmmyyyyyy.....
• i asked mackenzie if she knew another child's name from a different class at the totcollege and she said no, but she comes with a big sister like zachy does.
• zach and mackenzie are playing babies together. he's pushing the red buggy. she's bossing him around. too cute.
• i'm house hunting online and the kids, 1&3, are fending for themselves. this can't be good. better focus. on them that is.
• mackenzie: zach's my baby tinkerbelle. he's thrilled, i'm sure.
• m saw tinkerbelle at the mall. i've had to call her that since.
• vvzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzs zzzzz z zs zszzzzzz z zzz zzzzzzzzzzzzzz (today's facebook status brought to you by the one and only zachy!)
•  woke up to several inches of snow. in april. in arizona.
• m: a nice mommy takes care of the babies and daddys. momma: who takes care of mommys? m: nobody.
• z is perfecting his ability to go boneless and have hulk-like strength when he doesn't want to do something.
• m, of course: i'm a good mommy. i don't yell. i don't argue. i say yes, yes, yes all day long.
• m, yet again: i will be kid while i have the cookie and then i can turn back into a baby. and she's serious. it's like she's always one step ahead.
• hearing daddy read 'pinkalicious' m...hilarious.
• momma just did her first if it's on the floor, it's mine speech. unfortunately, for me, i was talking about cut up pieces of paper.
• mackenzie is all about BFF saige these days. I asked her if she still plays with jojo. she said, 'yes, but sometimes she plays with other friends and sometimes I play with other friends. sometimes it's good to play with other friends.' is she really 3?
• before school on thursday, m said momma, i can't wait to go to school and play with jordan 'palvlenie'. she always hugs me momma. why do you think she hugs me?
• the other day i said the word dance in a sentence and zachy started to. on cue. just like that.
• zachy identify toots now. by name. and laughter.
• he also likes to make pretend toots on his hand. he's a boy. for sure.
• i asked dad one day if he had done something on purpose. he said he had not and m said, it was on accident. i was impressed.
• they have been way too cute lately. one night before bed they hugged. and hugged. and hugged.
• tonight before bed m said to z come on! they ran out of the room. then back in laughing. then back out. then back in laughing. for no real reason. just to have fun. no better reason, i suppose.

Hardly does you two justice. Things have been good lately. Really, really good. I'm excited for us to get to our new home and Mackenzie is as well. Life is in limbo as we wait to go. But we're doing alright. Better than alright.



Just call me Baby Tinkerbelle!

Momma Tinkerbelle with Baby Tinkerbelle.

Our last snow of the season...

....and at this house.

Sissy in Charge.

ZachySleep&Smile

I have probably talked about this way too much already, but it's ridiculous to me. How well Zachy goes to sleep now, that is. After a year of barely getting any sleep, I have the right to perserverate, don't I?

The thing is, he's so darn cute at bedtime I can't stand it.

With Zachy, bedtime goes something like this...

If it's a bath night, he and Mackenzie take their baths. And then Dad get his jammies on and I get Mackenzie's on. It's a race. Mackenzie and I always win. We have to.

Then Zachy wobble walks through the house, with his big Zachy smile saying Tee, Tee. He's ready to brush his teeth. His readiness, makes Mackenzie more agreeable to whole teeth brushing thing too. Thank you, Zachy.

Next, I tell him it's time to go to bed. He waves and says Bye Bye to Mackenzie and Dad. Sometimes he tries to hug and kiss her, just because he knows she will scream. And he'll laugh.

He walks to his room with his big Zachy smile. Last night he rode his car to his room. And then out of the room. And then back in.

Onto the bed. Usually with a bottle hanging out of his mouth. We sing songs. We used to read books, but then he started to grab them and shove them down the side of the bed, look at me with a clueless concerned expression on his face, and say Where go? Where go. But, it's been awhile, so maybe we should try books again.

Back to the song singing. We sing You Are My Sunshine and our special Good Night Zachy song. Several times each. Now I can't begin to explain how cute he looks in the dimly light room: His bald head swaying from side to side, bottle hanging out of his mouth, big Zachy smile on his face, singing along a word here and there. It's unreal. And just way too adorable for words.

I'm so happy right now just thinking about it all.

After some songs I say Okay Zachy. It's time for bed now.

He gets off the bed, with his big Zachy smile, and wobble walks over to this crib.

I then say Zachy you know you need to give me your bottle.

So he does, with his big Zachy smile.

We hug.

And kiss.

I put him in the crib.

He grabs his Gunky and says, with his big Zachy smile, GUNKY!

He picks up his blanket, hands it to me and, you guessed it - with his big Zachy smile, says On!

He lays down, butt in the air, snuggled up with Gunky, I put the blanket on.

I love you sweet Zachy. Good night.

Survival&Sugar

Consistent with gender differences and sibling order, Zachy has fewer words he says than I seem recall Mackenzie having at this age. He communicates just fine, but his vocabulary is a little smaller. That said, there are six, count 'em six, words that come to mind, which he has definitely learned before her.

They are:

No!

Mine!

Cookies.

Juice.

Ice cream.

(and)

Chocolate.

Yep. For Zachy, sibling number two, it's all about Survival and Sugar!