Mayhem - complete and total Mayhem.

As most of you are aware - both Scarlett and Holden's birthdays are in May....only 5 days apart. Needless to say, this month has been nuts. And on top of everything else, we moved. But that's for a different post. Holden turned one on May 13th. Here he is in all of his one-year-old glory. He still likes to eat wrapping paper...

but, more importantly, he likes to eat cake too.
All done!Joe and I got him a ride on trike...which he loves and which we promptly took away from him so we could pack it. (We're horrible parents.) Scarlett turned 3 on May 18th. We picked her up at daycare and she was rockin' a paper crown that her teachers made for her. She had worn it all day and it was torn to almost shreds by the time we got there and I used an entire roll of Scotch Tape to repair it once we got home. (How could I not?) Nan got Scarlett a doll named Sophie and she was so incredibly proud of it. Can you tell?

And Scarlett got pink princess "cupcapes" with candy hearts.
In between their two actual birthdays, we threw a joint party for the kids at a local playgym. Initially, I was hesitant, but it couldn't have gone any better or been any less stressful. The babies had fun. The preschoolers had fun. And Scarlett and Holden don't even require therapy because they didn't get their own parties...well, they don't require therapy yet. Here are the kids getting ready to leave for their party.

There were playhouses there.And ride-on toys.And roller-coasters.And cheese doodles. There were swingsets.and the swingsets had slides.
and some of those slides went into ball pits. There was a bouncy castle.And a treasure hunt. Look at all those Stork Club attendees sitting cross-legged like circle time. They took direction on how to find the clues.Which they promptly searched for,promptly found,and they scored some pretty sweet treasure. There was pizza. And cake.

And lots of cute babies that would stay still long enough for me to get a picture of them...like Gio (Holden's best bud).
And Avery (Holden and Avery go way back...like 10.5 months back). And Miss Gwen...(the future Mrs. Holden Adams). Yay birthdays! Yay birthday party! Yay it's done. Whew.

Scarlett turns three

Say it isn't so, Goosey. You are not three years old yet, are you? I mean...that would make you a kid, right. Not a baby; not a toddler; a kid. And you can't possibly be a kid yet. Could you? (Sigh.)
A kid you are indeed – and quite a kid. This year was a big year for you. You tackled big girl beds. You tackled potty training. You tackled a baby brother (in every possible sense). And you just entered preschool. You kicked butt this year, kiddo. Kicked butt and took names. So...who is Scarlett the three-year-old? You're independent, and yet, you want me to carry you across the street so the cars don't "get you." All is right in your world if I let you wear a dress in the morning. You’ve outwitted me more times than I’d like to admit. Every night on your way to brush your teeth, you stop in the doorway, turn around and come back to kiss your brother before he goes into his crib. Your eyes tear up at sad movies. You like to “tap dance” in your princess shoes when we watch Annie. You would spend all day outside if we let you. You've recently become concerned that our dog doesn't know how to laugh. You don’t stop talking – ever. You still absolutely love princesses. You’re “sugar and spice”…with a little extra spice. You’re our Goose!

Happy birthday, baby girl. I can't wait to see what the next three years have in store.

His big day...

To my Holden,

The second we even contemplated wanting you, you made your presence known. It was as if you were always meant to be with us…waiting patiently for the exact moment we decided we were ready for you, and then – you made your appearance. We crossed our fingers that you would be a boy, and a boy you most definitely are. Your father and I were in shock when we found out – “Are we that lucky? I don’t remember being lucky before…not lucky like this.” And, in fact, that lucky feeling hasn’t let up. Not one bit.

On May 13, 2009 at 5:36 am – you were born.

From start to finish, you rushed into this world in a short 3 ½ hours…oh ye of little patience. Your father and I frantically rushed to the hospital, my doctors frantically rushed to the hospital, and you, my little man, were born as mellow as can be 30 minutes later. I held you first. In fact, I held you for a long time. Because of your rush, the nurses still had to finish the admitting paperwork and your father had to run outside to get the camera and the suitcase and to move the car that we had just abandoned on the side of the road – and so the first 20 minutes of your life were spent in my arms. (And my heart aches to get just ONE of those 20 minutes back.)

Having gone through all the “firsts” before with your sister – all the first smiles, giggles and hugs, I was initially concerned that your firsts would be shadowed – but I was wrong. Instead, your firsts took on a new meaning. Instead of rushing you from milestone to milestone, I wanted to enjoy every second of baby you. Your sister’s first smile swiftly became her first giggle and then first hug; while that’s special too, it’s special in a different way. Your first smile was scooped up and cherished – knowing full well that yours would be the LAST first smile for your father and me.

"The first child got me shiny new, like a new pair of shoes, but he got blisters, too. The second child got me worn, yes, but comfortable." - Anna Quindlen

Happy first birthday, Holden. You made the whole package complete.

Bye-bye spider

Right before Scarlett went to bed tonight, Joe brought her to use the bathroom one last time and to brush her teeth. She immediately spotted a spider on the floor and royally freaked out. Joe grabbed a tissue, smooshed the spider and threw it into the toilet. Scarlett thought for a second. She looked in the toilet and then back at Joe, and said "I'm going to pee on it." Joe put her on the toilet and when she was done she, almost maliciously, said "there. I did it."
Good teamwork, Scarlett and Joe. First, this spider - next, the world.

Won't be long...

We're thinking it won't be too much longer before Holden starts to walk.

And, as we're learning very quickly, whatever you do - don't get in his and his lion's way. They'll plow you over.