5 Year Stats and The Girl That May Be The Death of Me

Long title, I know.  And this really should be two separate posts, but let's face it, if we're going to make it to the pool later, I have to cram it all into one :)  (Note, I started this yesterday afternoon.  Lilah took a short nap and I had to finish it this morning.)

We went to the doctor for Brian's 5 year check up today.  He is 53 pounds and 3 feet 10 inches tall.  This puts him in the 97th percentile for both weight and height.  Shocking, I know.  I didn't have any concerns to discuss, so it was a fairly quick appointment.  He did have a largish wart on his wrist that had been removed last year only to return with the spring round of viruses.  It was icky and driving him nuts, so he let the doctor remove it again.  35 seconds of that freeze stuff is what he had to endure.  He is tough, I'm telling you!

Now moving onto Miss Lilah who will someday be the death of me.  I thought it would be Brian for sure, but this girl is wild!  To start, she is really smart and really verbal.  Last week on vacation she announced at dinner out of nowhere..."I have boobs!  Mommy has boobs too!"  And recently she has been insisting that she has a penis.  Um, no my dear, you do not...  Then there is the climbing.  She can't quite reach the monkey bars yet, but she can certainly climb the ladder that leads to them.  Yesterday she showed me that she can climb to the top and then hang off of the handle bars once she gets there like a chimpanzee.  OMG so scary!  She even dropped to the group on her own with few tears.  Mostly though she just likes to hang there and watch me come running to retrieve her while laughing hysterically.

Have I mentioned that she is nearly potty trained?  She decided she wanted to "pee in the potty" a little over a month ago.  I have been using pull ups because she gets a little too involved in things to remember to stop and go potty and because she can't quite pull her own pants up and down yet.  Before vacation she liked going on the big potty, but since we have been back she prefers to use her baby Elmo potty...you know the kind that has to be emptied?  Well she has decided she has to empty it herself.  Let's just say she misses.  Often. 

She's gonna kill me!

fiVe

My sweet Brian boy,

Today you are FIVE!  You started your day with a question...pretty typical for you at this age.  "Hey, who put these on my door?!"  You were referring to the streamers I had hung.  Hehe!  Mama likes to surprise people, little man.  Get used to it.  You liked the many balloons that greeted you downstairs.  and you were excited to see your first present on the kitchen table too.  Nana got to make your morning with your Jake duplo toys!  We had a pretty mild day from there.  We played outside, we had lunch at home and went to the pool for awhile with Aunt Teri. You were so excited for dinner at Snappy's, your cookie cake and of course more presents!  I think this may be the first birthday for which you will have real memories.  I guess we will see!

It's impossible to believe that FIVE years have passed since you were born.  And that you will start KINDERGARTEN in (less than) two short months.  It's so fun to see you grow and learn.  I was amazed this year when you came home from school each week knowing a new letter of the alphabet...how to write it, it's sign (language) AND it's phonetic sound!  Your speech has come SOOOO far and even though you have more to overcome, it's amazing to be able to have full conversations with you all day long.  Sometimes when you are asking five-hundred-trillion questions, I have to remind myself how happy it makes me!

You are incredibly handsome.  I am absolutely overcome by how cute you are every single day.  I love taking your picture...you might have noticed.  You are so freaking photogenic, it's hard to stop!

You make friends much more easily that I would have expected with your speech issues.  You made some very strong friendships at school this year and even insisted on inviting a couple of them to your birthday party later this week!  Your teacher called you a LEADER many times this school year.  She's right, I noticed.  The kids definitely looked to you for direction.  However, you might be a tad bit bossy too.  I can't imagine where you got that.  We'll have to watch it!

You are quite sensitive and even though you don't always act like it, you totally GET IT when someone is sad or upset.  You are super sweet with Lilah when you want to be.  You really are a fantastic big brother and have already taught her so much-good and bad!  I love that you can take on the responsibility of "watching her" here and there...like when Mama needs to grab a quick shower!  You love to sit and "read" to her which is adorable!

Speaking of, you still love to read and be read to.  I absolutely CANNOT wait until you are truly able to read to yourself.  I know it's coming soon and I just know how excited you will be about it! You love to be outdoors and in the water...pool and ocean (and sprinkler, really)!  You love legos and any type of activity where you get to build things.  You love Jake and the Neverland Pirates and Octonauts, Team Umizoomi.  Many of your birthday gifts reflect this.  You also still love your cars.  Again, reflected in your gifts!  You are eating SO MUCH more than you used to.  You are working really hard at it and I am so pleased.  You are eating FRUIT LOOPS with MILK for breakfast now!  You eat pizza lunchables...even the peperoni.  You have no idea how excited mama is to be able to send you to school with a meal that doesn't consist of simply carbs!

We took you to see your first movie yesterday and you were so excited and so good!  Monsters University was definitely the perfect movie for you. You LOVED it!

Brian Thomas, your Daddy and I are so incredibly proud of you.  You are tough, resilient little man.  You are stubborn and sweet all at the same time.  You're smart and funny....soooooo funny!  We love you so much, so many people do.  You are very blessed to have so many people who love you so much.  And we are so very blessed to have you in our lives.

Happy 5th Birthday, Brian Thomas!
Love, Mama

We're Home!

Yesterday we made it home about 7p.m.  The plane rides were uneventful, which is always a good thing when traveling with little ones.  Our professional photo CD got broken, but the photographer is sending us a new one, so we will be good to go with those awesome pics in a few days! 

The kids were extremely excited to see Nana, Pappy and their toys!  Today we are back to the routine...Shawn and Brian built something a Lowe's this morning, we've already been through Skyline for plain hot dogs, no buns, and we've already been to horseback riding...oh and it's 90 degrees with 70% humidity!  Back to reality, I guess!

Here are some final photos from the trip.

This is how Lilah spent our last day.  Brrr, it was cold!

A pirate ship at the Marshwalk!

Waiting for our plane to Atlanta.

More Beach 2013

My apologies for the lack of beach posts.  Miss Lilah has not been the best napper this week.  Thankfully today she is passed out on top of me which means I get to post!

The last two days have not been great beach days, but we managed to get some time in each morning.  Yesterday we were lucky to beat the rain.  Today was colder and windy.  Lilah spent most of her beach time in my arms wrapped in a towel.  Brian couldn't have cared less about the weather.  He was happy to play in the water no matter how cold it was.

We got several good days in before the icky weather rolled in.  We saw lizards, crabs (mating!), a snake, some cool birds and a bunch of alligators.

We were all sad to say goodbye to the beach today, but we still have a yummy dinner at Landolfis to look forward to, some sort of fun on the beach or Marshwalk tonight, and then, of course, our plane rides tomorrow!

See the gator?  No, not Brian and Lilah!  The real one behind them!

Pawley's 2013 Days 1 and 2

2 and 3 really.  Day 1 was traveling.  It was a busy day, but the kids were relatively good and we had no issues with the airline.  When we were getting car seats etc. ready to go at the rental car lot, Lilah sat on Brian's lap and he read her a book.  Those are the moments when I know we were right to have two!

Yesterday and today were spent at the beach.  Lilah is a bit nervous about the water.  Brian is a reckless as ever and totally scaring the crap out of me.  Enjoy the pictures...

Pre-Beach Photo Dump

We leave for the beach in THREE DAYS.  What should I be doing?

1. Laundry
2. Packing
3. Shopping for a few last minute things
4. Making a grocery list for when we arrive

What am I doing?  Clearing off my camera card so it's empty and ready for beach photos.  And posting them here.

I'll shop and do laundry tomorrow.  Maybe I will make the grocery list too.  I'll pack Thursday.

For now, enjoy my pre-beach photo dump...

My little bucket head.

Cheering on the Reds!

One of the many electronic devices necessary to keep Lilah entertained during extra innings.

We stayed for the Beach Boys concert.  FREAKIN UNCLE JESSIE performed with them!!  It was truly AWESOME!

Memorial Day Parade.

Lilah was allll about the candy.

Even with the picture cutting them off, look at those long legs on both of them!

My little ham.  All. Day. Long.

Did I mention that we leave for the beach in THREE DAYS????  Expect many beach photos!!!