May-hem

I know I always preface these blogs with "Wow this month flew by" or "We were so busy this month" but I have to say this was probably the busiest month we've had since the holidays. Between visitors and my restless mind coming up with new projects and ideas and spring planting, it was a lot. But it was all excellent and of course wouldn't trade it for anything. Except for maybe this hunk right hereeeeeee...

The kids spent the first Saturday of the month making a Mother's Day surprise at Home Depot. Blair was more interested in how the paint tasted. 

We really kicked off May with a visit from Grandma Yvette! It was so much fun to have her with us on our adventures, and the kids really loved their shared time together. We will be looking forward to Labor Day when she comes back to visit and brings all of Colin & Blair's cousins with her! 

We went to another play group at the zoo - we almost didn't go because it was raining but I am so glad we did! We got to see a snow leopard being trained and fed the llamas. No surprise that neither kid was hesitant around the animals, but it still takes me back with the intense love Blair has for all creatures. She just laughs and points and thinks its the best. My prediction: she will be a vet or zoologist when she grows up. 

 

 

Next we went to another infamous dance party! Grandma Yvette got to see all Colin's sweet, uninhibited dance moves, and got to see Blair cruise the room and observe. 

 

Next we went to the Air Zoo - it was our first time since Blair was born so I was eager to see how she liked the rides; well, she loved them! Even the ones that made me feel pukey she was a-okay. The only time she screamed was when it stopped or right before it started. Girl has no patience. 

See? Here she is in all her impatient glory. 

I also got this sweet Mother's Day gift from Colin. It is an airplane and inside were tiny paper hearts that he enjoyed dumping out everywhere. That one I did not mind cleaning up 💙

After Grandma left to gather up Colin's cousins to bring back, the next big thing to look forward to was Chris' birthday! We made a fun sign for the yard (the only person who honked was our neighbor) along with some hand-painted birthday cards for Dad as well. 

I love bringing the kids into little pranks, but what I love even more is when they come up with their own little funny ideas. Chris has a limited number of sweets he likes, so while I was telling Colin we could make carrot cake cupcakes, he turned to me and said "And we can put mini Starbursts inside as a surprise!" If you saw his face there was no way I could say no! Chris was definitely surprised, but laughed and as he picked out his Starbursts Colin said "Dad I can eat those, I'll eat them." 

Then it was really time to hit the ground running with our outside gardening. We had seedlings to transplant and dirt to rototill and perennials to plant and all the things. It was really lucky for me that I had some great helpers along the way! 

 

 

As a side note - Colin planted the remaining bean seeds randomly around the yard, and I have created a collage of them below for your enjoyment. 

Colin finished school and I can't believe it has been one year already! Truth be told I wish he was still in school because the adjustment to full days of both kids five days a week is pretty taxing. My motto is: just stay busy! As his school year came to a close, he had his last day, then a class picnic, then a family block party. It was a great year with this school and I am so thankful to be a part of their community. 

First & last day of school - time is a cruel mistress. 

Colin's teacher....ILOVEHERSOMUCH. They were supposed to say "Thank you!" when they gave her the flowers but my child said "I'm welcome."

We are members of the Air Zoo, and for the month of May you get free admission to a handful of other locations as part of the cultural exchange. On the very last day of May, we decided to head to the bird sanctuary. I had no idea what to expect but it was something to do (see motto above). It ended up being really fun and the kids had a blast (and it wasn't all nasty geese). 

Through the rest of the month, we took advantage of the warmer weather and played outside quite a bit, whether at playgrounds or at home. As the kids grow older I am finding so many cool outdoor toys I wish they had when I was a kid (see giant frisbee). It is life altering to be able to open the door and have the kids and dog just go outside. Of course, I am not absolved of all responsibility and still have to watch them, but a quick glance or two does the trick. 

 

And really what to say about these kids...I'm glad in some respects Blair is old enough to start playing interactively with Colin, but it also brings new problems. I'm sure any parent with multiple kids can agree on the silly things kids fight over. My girl Blair is starting to fight back - if he won't leave her alone she will scratch him, hit him and once even bit his cheek so hard she left teeth imprints. I told the lady at the Y daycare that hopefully she just sticks to biting him!!

COLIN. Hopefully we all get used to him not having school soon because it has taken a toll on all of us so far. Even if we do something in the morning, while Blair is asleep and in the afternoon, any in between time where he isn't physically moving is somewhat painful. I can't call him bored because I try my best to keep him occupied, but something is going on in that brain and body that keep him in maniac form all day long. He has also taken to back talk, which drives me crazy. His go-to phrase is "You do it." when I ask him to do something. Enraging.

Of course he isn't all bad all the time - most of the time he can be really funny and sweet. I'm a bit embarrassed to admit that sometimes I will hear Blair scream and assume he's doing something to mess with her, but in reality he's trying to help her or get her to calm down. Something Chris and I talked about recently was that he's very willing to share - even if it is something he covets. He offers neighbors his gum, gave Blair half his cookie after she hoovered hers and tries to give Blair toys to make her happy when she's upset.

Some funny Colin stories:
- We were outside doing the window boxes and a solicitor came by. He gave us his spiel and told Colin if he was extra good he could have a sucker and proceeded to hand it to me. After he left, he asked the guy's name - I said Ron - and kept saying "Where's that black man Ron?" "Where did that black man Ron go?" I finally had to tell him to just call him "Ron" and how would he like it if everyone called him "white boy Colin" and he said "That would be great!"
- He was recently peeling on his shoulders (my bad) and came running into the kitchen and said "Mom I'm getting too big for my skin!"

- Chris & Colin were wrestling and Chris said "Dang dude you're slippery!" and Colin replied "Yeah like butta." 

- He had a few bug bites and went up to my friend Sarah and said "I got a lot of bumps today."

- Don't leave your phone laying around or you'll get 10+ pictures that look like this! 

 

 

BLAIR. All I can say is - the tantrums have begun! She's at the age when she's saying so many more words but doesn't know the ones to use when she's frustrated, then it boils over. Blair's tantrums usually include her slowly laying down on the floor (so as not to hit her head on the floor) and screaming. I don't pay much attention and let her work it out herself. 

 

 

Blair has also become a master climber, and will try to climb anything in sight. Dining room chairs, Colin's ladder to his tree house, rope ladders at playgrounds, rock walls...you name it and if she can reach it she's climbing up. Blair has also boomed in the vocabulary department - she now says over 20 words, and understands if you ask her to do something simple (for example - "give this to Carlo!"). Blair loves to flip through books and point at things and pretends she's saying the words, which is one of my favorite things she does these days. She is also starting to show a real interest in bikes & scooters; which even now Colin couldn't careless about. Blair will get on Colin's trike and try to pedal and even steer - looks like I will have one bike buddy!

 

Some fun Blair facts:

- She still only has 6 teeth! Four top & two bottom. Colin had all his teeth when he was only a month older than her! 

- Blair loves food and often times eats more than Colin. She will grab a whole handful of food and shove it into her mouth. Unlike her mother and brother, she prefers meat, giving special love to hot dogs and chicken. Oh, and ice cream. 

- She successfully uses silverware. 

- Blair is officially done with bottles! She only gets the pacifier for naps & bedtime. I know we need to wean her off that too but man! She just started sleeping through the night like a month ago...

- She and Carlo still have a special bond. 

And let's end on an adorable little buttcheeks note.