Teeth time

Look at those boys brushing their teeth! Grandpa would be so proud. :) Even though... neither of them is actually brushing, just sucking on the brush and the toothpaste.

But they are pretty cute! Or they are to me at least. :)

Happy Dance!

Ayden actually went potty in the toilet for the first time!!!

WAAAHOOOOO!!!!!

Do you know what this means?! This means no more $40 every two weeks for his diapers! This means no more changing his sick nasty poos. This means that he can go to pre-school!!!! I feel so liberated!!! 

Now the only trick is to KEEP him going potty in the toilet. I should probably simmer down until he's actually potty trained or its going to be really depressing when he decides that he's bored of the candy and sticker awards he gets and wants his bum changed again by me.

BUT for now... Ayden and I are going to do the HAPPY POTTY DANCE!!!!! {run around the living room and jumping up and down.}

Different, but good.

I'm learning new things about my boys every day. For instance. I know that Ethan craves physical touch. He loves to be held. He loves his ears, feet and head rubbed. Which if you've had children or been around children you'll know that getting them to hold still for a foot rub is nearly impossible. With Ethan, he'll almost always stop to enjoy the massage. If I try this with Ayden, and I have, I'll most likely get a 'don do that!' statement from him. Ethan also hates isolation. Sometimes he's screeching loud enough to bring down the house and so... he get his special play time in his bedroom with the door shut tight. I learned very quickly that he loathes this with every fiber of his being. It is like the ultimate punishment for him, instead of calming down because he's alone he'll usually get more frenzied and upset. So I don't put him anywhere by himself very often any longer. Yesterday was one such day where I was going to lose my head if he didn't stop screaming. And apparently for him not screaming and following me around the house was not an option. He was gently escorted upstairs and set in his room. After I'd finished making dinner I went up to get him and he was laying by the door suffering from a self induced screaming coma. WHICH is easily remedied! I picked 'screaming coma' baby up and just held him and held him.....aaaand held him. Because, what? he loves physical contact! We sat together for about a half hour, maybe longer before he was ready to go somewhere else.

 {Daddy's headset}

Ayden on the other hand is much different. I'm still trying to figure him out! Not that as Ethan gets older I won't have more to discover with her personality. But I have him pegged right now, Ayden... not so much. Ayden is quite stubborn. I'll say come here, he'll look me straight in the eyes and say 'no!' purely for the fact that I asked him to come somewhere. I say go here- he goes to the opposite corner of where I wanted him to go. So you'd think that reverse psychology would work on him right? In some cases maybe it would, but for most- he'll most likely be glad that he doesn't have to do what I asked. "Ayden, don't eat your lunch." Ayden will think for a bit, then... "taye Mommy." And he'll proceed to do whatever he was doing before I interrupted him. I sort of have to trick Ayden into doing things, which is not very easy for me. I'm not a very good trickster and he sees through me a lot of the time! Yesterday we were having dinner and Ayden was pulling his usual routine of refusing to eat his food. So we made it a game. The problem is, if its the same game he's played before, he'll most likely not play it. Last night we played, Ayden will sneak a bit of his food and Mommy will catch him at the last minute and cheer!... we did this for e-v-e-r-y bite. I'm learning that Ayden likes to have special alone time with his Mommy and Daddy. He likes to have our time and attention to himself. This isn't very easy to pull off with two kids, and I can't image it gets any easier with more children. But right now, we let Ayden stay up later than Ethan and then he gets his time with us.

{Showing you his battle wounds}

Ayden's showing you his burnt hand. He stuck his entire hand on a fireplace at GGPAs house and roasted all 5 of his fingers. 4 of them blistered and 3 bad enough to require band-aids. I think we can easily assume he won't do that again! At least not for a very very long time.

Sorry this post is kind of boring. I am keeping this for my kids mostly and I want them to know about their little personality traits they had and may still have eons from now! 

State of Mind

The motherhood cycle. Something I've been thinking about lately.

We'll start off really simple. You find out you're pregnant!

 

You're scared out of your mind because you've never done this before and wa-blam! Baby is here before you know it!

 

You think you know what you're doing. You think everyone is on the same wavelength as you as far as your baby goes. If you're like me, you get territorial over your baby. When Ayden was born my Mom and my Mother-in-law came to help me with Ayden at different times. I will admit now, that I was crazy in some fashion. My mother-in-law bought a really cute teddy bear that makes the sounds your baby would hear while in the womb. I was instantly jealous of the stupid bear. Like it could replace me!

I also remember one Aunt who we visited after Ayden was about 3-4 weeks old and she just swooped in and picked Ayden up without asking me. I was so cheesed. The nerve of her to just pick up my baby without even asking. Boy was I miffed.

 

This is what territorial looks like. But on a completely random baby that I found on the internet that gave me the perfect bug eyes look that I was going for.

For about the first year of their life, if not longer you don't want to go out on dates. You'd rather stay home or bring the baby with you. You feel bad if you leave the baby with someone else for too long.

 

Or you start to get paranoid. You go on a date, have dinner and before the movie you call to make sure everything is ok.

Now you realize you're ready for another adorable baby to come into your family and you get pregnant again!

You look back at how you acted with your first and think, wow it must have been SO obvious that I was a first time Mom. Instead of wanting to stay at the hospital longer because you know you get help there, you want to go home.

Instead of getting mad because the Auntie just took the baby without asking. You hope that she'll pick one of your two kids up so you can get away from them for a bit.

Instead of getting jealous of silly teddy bears, you're glad you have it so you're not the one that has to cuddle with the baby all the time because you have that other baby running around the house that you have to care for.

Here is the teddy I was jealous of by the way. :)

And lastly, I have been trying to find a couple to trade off weekends with since the dawn of time- or at least since the dawn of Ethan! Because instead of stay home and bask in my childrens' love and chaos, I would rather get out of the house with my husband! NOT because I love my kids less, but so that I can handle being around their craziness.

My kids' pediatrician always tells me that I'll love my children more if I see them less on the weekends. :)

  

Now I just need to find a couple that is actually ready to go on date nights and that is willing and able to trade weekends with me! Oh and that lives in the same state as me!

I have a feeling that after I have more children that I'll still look back at my state of mind now and go 'wow, I really had no idea what I was doing. Why would I ever want to do this?! or that!?'

Does this sound pretty familiar to the Mommies out there? Maybe its just me.

War

Ethan. *This is to be said with an arch nemesis air about it. Slow drawn out low voice.*

He has recently taken it upon himself to test gravity, as if it didn't exist before he was born. He would throw his food on the ground, throw his toys off high places, simply drop something only to wait for someone to pick the something back up again so he could drop it.... and today, he was throwing his bath toys out of the bath.

Normally I'm not AS bothered about this as I was today. He would stand up, give me this maniacal laugh and huck a squishy, soapy letter at my feet. Not thrilled with his naughty, I picked the toy back up and threw it at him telling him to keep his stuff in the bath! He laughed some more and threw a few more letters out. *my eyes began to twitch- or if they didn't, then they should have!* I picked the toys up again and tried to throw them so they'd stick to the wall. They didn't. He grabbed them again and sloshed them out of the tub soaking my feet and the bathmat. *More fake eye twitching!* I was on the verge of destroying every last of his toys in a torturous event. But I controlled myself and picked up the toys ONCE AGAIN and put them in the tub. Sternly telling him NO! while swatting the toy he had already lifted out of the water, out of his hand, before he could once again eject it from his bath. This is where I sat down to watch him play some more with Ayden, inwardly fuming.

Naturally a 12 month old has no idea what anyone is saying and doesn't listen on purpose! Sooooo... knowing FULL WELL that it will annoy me, he picks up three more alphabet letters and throws them at me. This time with some water and more bubbles.

 {Lets pretend it doesn't have that text there.}

I'm about ready to lose my head and he can't stop laughing! I pick up. every. stupid. letter. and bop him on the head with each one. He just looks up at me nonplussed and gathers up not only the letters now, BUT a FiShY tOy!!!! and proceeds to throw it out of the tub laughing like a crazed maniac!

GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!

He MUST have a death wish! Because this was NOT in any realm, funny to me. It was the last straw, I grabbed the shower curtain after I'd put all his toys back in the tub for the umpteenth time, and pulled it shut. I hear giggling, splashing, and some rustling about. I had decided for my sanity and Ethans safety to walk out of the bathroom at this time. I turned around to listen to him play while out in the hallway only to see this little hand poke out from behind the curtain and drop his red fishy on the ground. The hand then disappears and the insane baby giggling commences. He then ripped the curtain back, smiling full of happiness, excitement and eagerness at what my next step in his game would be. I couldn't help but laugh. He was having a crazy great time while I was about to hang him for heinous and despicable crimes. Gosh he's so lucky he's so dang cute!

What a week!

I have been slacking as of late with writing in here. Perhaps that had to do with having family here and the things I would normally write about, they were mostly all present for! For those of you not present. Here is a short run down.

• Dad Kunz flew in last week on Tuesday if I remember right.
• We spent the rest of the week basically with the Kunz familia
• Mom Kunz, Chelsea and Taylor drove in on Thursday.
• Kami and Co. the next day.
• We ate, we played, we cried, we ate some more.
• We attended a loved ones funeral. Hence the reason the family is here.
• Ayden and Ethan were cute.
• We ate some more food.
• Sunday were family photos. The tots did not want to cooperate! We say come here, they go there. We say it again, they cry and squirm and fuss and work our last nerve like they have a death wish. Ayden and I left the photo shoot not in good terms.  Ethan could care less.
• A good friend came in for the weekend to get her hubby. She relaxed, played, watches shows and allowed me to gorge myself at Tucanos on Monday with her and her hubby! 

All in all it was a crazy busy week! We were out of the house more than we were at home. Which I cannot honestly complain about because it was with family and I enjoyed it! BUT it is a pleasure to be able to stay in my home now and deal with my kids' almost constant chaos in my controlled environment! HA... controlled. Like I have any of that.

Relatives, It's all... relative? yes?

Ok- so my Title really doesn't have much to do with what I'm thinking about it. It does have to do with relatives, but you can basically ignore the rest; unless when I'm finished typing this... and you're finished reading, you feel that the title fits, then don't ignore it and thank me for allowing you to bask in my creative genius. :)

I was thinking today about a social expectation. I have a feeling that the pressure of this expectation is greater or smaller based on the family and the individuals involved. I was thinking about that special time after you get married; that special time when you officially have two parents. Your own and your in-laws and you now get to call your in-laws, Mom and Dad.

I've heard storied about girls.... or boys that have gotten married and their Mother-in-law or father-in-law demand right away that you call them Mom or Dad. No 'ifs','ands' or 'buts' about it. I don't think this is very fair, but I'm not here to talk about this type of person, because I have no experience in this department. Ok- actually I do have one thing to say. If I felt forced, I think I'd resent that. But I'll never know. My in-laws haven't given me any inkling of pressure. Aaaand back on track now...

So, now that its been over three years since I sealed the deal; why is it so hard for me to call my in-laws, Mom and Dad?

I thought at first it was because by my standard they had to earn that title and at first they hadn't because I didn't even really know them. They had obviously earned it with their own children, because.... well.... they were their kids' parents, and good ones at that. You can be a parent and a crummy one, which is where I don't think you deserve to be called Mom or Dad.

At first I didn't call my in-laws Mom and Dad because they hadn't quite gathered that title in my mind, but now after three years- heck even after one or two!- they have by far collected that title. I guess I just need to work up the courage and just say it, because its really not that scary of a thing to say. Especially if they deserve it. Especially if they are technically my parents!

Geez Jen get a hold of yourself and just do it! Can I use that phrase?- I'm not stealing it from Nike. I swear!

Does anyone else married have this problem?

Til we meet again

I'm sitting here trying to think of the words to say that describe how I feel. The lyrics to a church hymn keep scrolling across my mind, "God be with you til we meet again." If I try to sing them out loud I begin to cry.

A very special person that I met a little over three years ago passed away. She was.... IS McKays' Aunt Monica. Her spirit has left her body but that doesn't mean she's done being McKays Aunt or my adopted Aunt. Through the grace of Christ we will see her again.

Monica had a disease that made her body her prison. She was bound to a wheelchair and needed assistance with nearly every aspect of her life. Her body was brittle and stiff, her joints did not bend easily and she was in pain. But I cannot remember a single time when she was not smiling, when she was not joking. She was always pleasant. Now I know that perhaps she did have her bad days, but to me, I will always remember her as a happy woman. She was kind, light-hearted, loving and accepting.

This is how I will remember her. Now that she has passed on she can be freed of her mortal, imperfect body and walk. She can hug. She can dance. She can be whole and she will have the blessing of being with her Mother, who passed through this world over three years ago.

"God be with you til we meet again..." 

There is a song that comes to my mind when I think of death. You may have heard it before. It's called Temporary Home by Carrie Underwood. Its on my main page. If you have the time. Please listen to it.

". . .The room is filled with people he loves
And he whispers don't cry for me
I'll see you all someday
He looks up and says "I can see God's face."

'This is my temporary Home
It's not where I belong
Windows and rooms that I'm passin' through
This was just a stop,on the way To where I'm going
I'm not afraid because I know this was
My temporary home.'"

Reason to Celebrate

I am so proud of my husband! He's been sick for almost a year now and he still tries to go to work, he still tries to help around the house and he is still an affectionate husband, even though most days just standing up makes him want to yarf.

He has done more than his share to keep our little bunch fed, warm and clothed. This year McKay was under review for a bonus! I'm not entirely sure how they determine them. I think its based off the amount you made the previous year, tied in with your performance and maybe how long you've been with the company. He messaged me the day he found out how much and asked me to guess. I was thinking that perhaps it would be in the ballpark of $200-$400, it was closer to the value of a big screen TV.... a big big BIG screen TV!! I am so thrilled and so proud and am pretty sure this is as good as Christmas!

What a wonderful blessing for our family. We'll have to take a bit off the top to celebrate and then the rest goes into savings for the car that we were supposed to buy in December! :)

ok- yeah I wish! More like....

You CANNOT even make that sexy if you tried!

Things never change

McKay and I have been married a little over 3 years and they have been wonderful, terrible, hard, funny, taxing and all together a whole new experience! For the past three years there have been many changes, new family members, new homes and new outlooks on old ideas; BUT there have been some things that have not changed. For instance I still LOVE Brach's candy hearts and can't seem to buy enough during Valentine's Day.

McKay still likes to watch a movie on his laptop when he goes to sleep at night.

Something I'm still getting used to. :) No I am not as grouchy as that woman looks when he's on his computer, mostly because we don't sleep in a bed so small you can't move without bumping your husband!

I still can't cook to save my life...

And last of all. McKay still takes a bite out of our cheese and puts it back in the fridge as in. :)

3 years and we still have our little quarks that make us who we are. Thankfully, the only thing I think when I see a hunk of my cheese missing is sweet thoughts about my husband and this random habit. As gross as it may be. hahaha

Thinking Chair

Ethan takes watching movies very seriously.

We mean business around here. He sat like this for about 5-10 minutes without moving. 

Ethan likes very much to be like his big brother and Ayden always sits in his 'thinking chair', so, when we got Ethan up here all by himself he was so thrilled. He was bouncing all over the place and finally he proudly and seriously took his seat to watch what was going on on the TV.

I love my boys! They surprise me every day with what they learn and know!