terrific twos

I am beginning to realize that having a two year old is, in more ways than one, almost like having a newborn all over again. It seems like just 24 months ago we were dealing with the same issues: putting him back to bed 25 times at night (then it was because he wasn't sleeping through the night yet, now it's because he can get out of his bed), begging and praying for him to eat (then it was because he was learning to breastfeed, now it's because he is too distracted to finish a meal), and cleaning up bodily fluids off the floor multiple times a day (then it was spit-up, now it's potty training misses). So, I need to give myself the same advice I needed then: This stage will not last forever. Don't let the frustrations keep you from enjoying watching your child grown and learn. In lieu of that, I am going to share some stories of cute things he has done lately.

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For his birthday he received a complete Potato Head Family set. He likes the baby potato the best and always wants him to wear the pirate shoes. He also began to explore the holes in his own face to see if the accessories fit him as well. What kid hasn't done this? I certainly remember doing it.

shoes in the nose? 

mustache man 

reminded me of Elton John

nice earrings

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Liam is beginning to understand relationships and affection better these days. Whenever he sees two people hugging or putting their arms around each other he likes to declare "they're buddies." We have this carved wood sculpture of The Last Supper that my cousin Melissa brought us back from her trip to Africa. One day he looked at it and pointed out one of the apostles with his hand on Jesus's back and said to me, "buddies eating breakfast."

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The other day Liam discovered a bag of green army men that Phil had received as a joke gift a while ago. I had purposely put them away because I didn't really want him playing with guns and war toys, so I was a little sad to see him excited about them. He began zooming them across the floor saying "vrooom, vrooom, need a boat." I was happy to realize he thought they were wakeboarding (which he has seen his daddy and uncle do recently). I'm glad he's still my gentle-hearted little boy.

one of those days

WARNING: The contents of this post contain graphic amounts of self-pity.

Since transitioning into a toddler bed my son, the former superstar sleeper, now gets out of bed at the slightest surge of consciousness, when in a crib he would have just rolled over and gone back to sleep. I know all of my friends with kids his age are laughing at me right now because it seems like all other toddlers wake up at the crack of dawn. But it’s hard to go from a kid who sleeps until 10 to one that’s up at 7. That’s three whole hours of work I could have gotten done.

So today’s parental duties began way too early in my opinion. By his nap time I was already exhausted so I was relieved that I only had to put him back in bed twice this time instead of 10 or 47 times like I have the past few days. I got a little work done but then received a worrisome phone call from my mom saying that she has to see a cardiologist tomorrow for a possible heart problem. She’s known for days but didn’t call me until now because she knew I would stress out about it. So now I feel guilty and stressed. I’m already worrying about my sister-in-law who is in the hospital pregnant with high-risk twins, my brother who doesn’t have a job, my dad who is still recovering from a broken heel, and now my mom.

Just then Liam emerged from his room and I was about to tell him it was still nap time when I realized it had been two hours and I hadn’t even had my shower yet. Ok, back on duty. I took him to the bathroom only to discover the toilet was plugged up, but I didn’t have time to deal with it so I sat him down on it anyway. Then I heard a car outside. My friend, who was coming to help me watch him later while I went to a work meeting, was at the door. I had told her the wrong time and she was here at 2:30 instead of 4:00. I was horribly embarrassed, not only because I had wasted her time but also because it was 2:30 and I was still in my pajamas.

As I was bringing Liam his lunch he threw the tray of his antique wooden high chair onto the ground for the last time and it split in half. Already feeling weepy about my parents getting older I started crying because it had been my Dad’s chair when he was little. So I sat him at the big table and served him his chicken stir fry with rice. He picked at it while I vacuumed the car which was so full of sand from the beach that I was going to loose my mind if I had to sit in there one more time. I came back inside to a child screaming “done mommy” and a floor covered in rice. After cleaning that up I locked him in the bathroom with me so I could keep an eye on him while showering. The shower drain was plugged up too, which I also didn’t have time to deal with now. I had 15 minutes to try and make myself presentable for my meeting. I ironed my clothes and then straightened my hair with one hand while holding him back with the other so he didn’t try to “help” me and burn himself. Somewhere between finishing my hair and putting on my makeup he decided that if the shower and toilet were both plugged, he might as well make it 3-for-3 and shove toilet paper down the sink. Then while I was getting dressed he dumped out a million puzzle pieces on the floor. I had a pair of espadrille heels that were fraying badly on the rope trim so I tried to get one last wear out of them by trimming the frayed parts off. “I help Mommy”, he cried as he brought out the play scissors from his doctor’s kit and started “cutting” my shoes for me. He then got a pair of his own shoes and pretended to cut them as well. I could see where this was going. “No, we don’t cut our shoes”, I told him, hypocrisizing myself.

I was ready now but in the fluster I had accidentally told my friend the wrong time again so she wasn’t here yet. She had left a text message to check if 4:30 was really the right time. I frantically texted her back and asked her to come right away. I am so thankful she is easy-going and put up with my absent-mindedness. She arrived. I took off. Work meeting was hectic but ok. I finally got back home with Liam and remembered I had told Phil he could go golfing after work. It was 7:15 and I was starving because I never ate lunch, Liam was starving because he had dumped his on the floor, and I had no patience or energy left to cook. Liam asked for some of “Daddy’s cereal” so I gave in and that was our dinner. I am too embarrassed to admit what kind of cereal it was but I’ll say that Liam has never had it before now and we tell him “it’s only for Daddy.” Except now he has a taste for it so I’m probably in trouble. Now it’s 8:15 but I’m not putting him to bed yet because I want him to see Phil when he gets home, which should be any minute now. Instead I am writing this while Liam “does the dishes” (aka: stands on a stool and sprays the counters down with the faucet attachment). Please don’t report me to CPS.

good thing he put his rain boots on

NOTE TO MY MOM: Sorry for the disappointing blog post. I don’t blame you for my bad day. I promise tomorrow I will go back to writing about how cute your grandson is and how happy our life is. It really is. We just have these kind of days sometimes. I love you.

twin shower, round two

On Thursday we got a chance to go visit my sister-in-law, AnneMarie, in the hospital. She is doing pretty well considering she is pregnant with twins and sentenced to remain in the hospital for weeks or months until the girls are born. It helps that her room is practically a hotel with a sprawling view of downtown Seattle and the waterfront. 

Liam loves his Auntie Anne

he swiped her protein shake

view from her hospital room

Today their church held a second baby shower for them. They have really been blessed with a lot of great friends and people who are taking care of them and making sure they have all they need and more to prepare for these babies. Those little girls are already so loved! I think I am going to have to fight to get time with them. But I'm their auntie so I think I should get priority right?


Since AnneMarie can't leave the hospital, Tim stood in for her at the shower and a few of her friends joined her in her room where they skyped with us to have a virtual baby shower.

honorary "mommy-to-be" 

happy baby shower!

savoring summer

September is totally making up for July's weather so far. I could get used to this. Liam and I have been eating lunch in the back yard every day at his tiny child-sized plastic picnic table which I barely fit on. But how can I resist when the sun is shining and he sweetly asks "eat outside?" How much better are my lunch breaks now that I work from home than when I spent the summer days eating lunch alone at a desk with no windows under florescent lights and too-cold air conditioning. I am so thankful.


I am also thankful for our garden. I love the feeling of standing outside in the evening and watering the plants. Being out after dark without needing a jacket is so rare that when it happens it almost feels like the air is magical. I have to breath it in.

my front yard

Also, today marks one year of my blog!

three-day weekend

The weekend began on Friday evening when Phil stayed home with Liam so I could go to my monthly Working Wives Roundtable meeting and enjoy friends, food, business advice, wine, and good conversation. It was just the way to start a great weekend. When I came home Phil informed me that he and Liam had decided it was time to convert his crib into a toddler bed and that he had gone right to sleep in it with no trouble. Wow, ok I guess he is two now but I wasn't quite expecting to make this transition so soon. Now, after 3 nights "cage-free" Liam has yet to escape. I guess all of my worrying was for nothing - let's just hope it continues this way!

He also now insists on sleeping without a shirt on so he can be like Daddy. Not sure if that's because it's been warm lately or because he thinks that he's a grown up now that he isn't in a crib.


On Saturday morning Phil got up early to go golfing and Liam and I slept in and then went to the Edmonds Farmer's Market. He was such a good helper as we picked out fruits and vegetables. He got to select his own nectarine as a treat and he happily walked around eating it as the juice dripped down his elbows. He greeted every dog we passed as well as every person riding a bike or playing a guitar. 


We spent the afternoon at home and then in the evening we packed a bag of toys and food and took a ferry from Everett out to Jetty Island. It is a small two-mile island of sandy beach. We played in the water, ate our picnic dinner, watched the kite-boarders, and build sand castles until the sun set. 

On Sunday we relaxed after church and then Phil's cousin invited us to his house for a spontaneous BBQ and campfire. There we made a new discovery, "French s'mores" (not actually from France), which consist of a marshmallow surrounded by chocolate bits and then wrapped in croissant dough and "baked" over the fire. After one bite I realized the possibilities could be endless - what about replacing the marshmallow with a whole strawberry, or adding dried cranberries, or cinnamon sugar, or Nutella! Or, we could create savory versions with cheese and veggies! This is definitely on the to-do list for our next campfire.

Today we headed up to Monroe to check out the Evergreen State Fair. Liam got to see horses, goats, sheep, and pigs. He tried his first taste of elephant ear and pretended to drive a tractor. I am so glad we get to give him all of these cool experiences. When we do things like this together he talks about it for days afterward. It's so much fun watching him learn.