Up Late

Last night we decided it was a good night to stay up till the wee hours to catch up on the computer world. That was a great idea until I looked over, Curt's asleep, it's 2 am and I'm awake with McKenzie. How does this happen? When I think it's a good idea to stay up late I don't take into account that McKenzie always thinks it's a good idea to stay up late, and get up early. Before all this happened Curt was sitting there watching videos on youtube, holding McKenzie while she's working on something special in her diaper. Little grunts and red face, this goes on for a while. Then out of the blue she starts screaming bloody murder! Curt immediately looks over at me for help. I quickly told him that she doesn't like to be in dirty diapers at all. She has this funny way of trying to breath through her mouth to avoid the smell, it causes her to make this funny noise thats very hard to explain. Try closing off the back of your throat and breathing in. Anyway he stands up real quick and starts to bring her over to me on the couch, looking for the diapers and wipes on the way. The diapers are right there and the wipes are in our room, it's amazing how quickly he can get something when he's in a panic. Anyways, here's the wipes and a clean diaper, ahhh all better. I look over and there's Curt, back on the computer and magically now I have McKenzie? Hmm, he's magic! Anyway, I love watching him with her and Tatum, he's a different man when his attention is devoted to them. He goes from the Jack of all trades “tough guy”, to this bowl of mush who would lay his life down for them in a heartbeat. I can't wait to see how he handles them as they get older, start school, dating, and driving. Can't wait...

My babies are growing up!

The best and the worst part of parenthood is this: The babies grow up. This is, of course, what a parent wants more than anything in the world. As a mother, there is nothing that matters more than securing a future for my daughters. When I was pregnant with Tatum, this was of enormous concern to me. The baby squirming within my body felt like a shadow of a child and although I loved the IDEA of the family Curt and I were building, I did not feel particularly maternal. And that, oh, that scared the sh*t out of me. I worried that I would not love, truly love, my child. If I had known then what I know now, I would have spent that energy on something much more appealing. Like, say, going to the movies, or walking through the mall. When I think back on it, it amazes me that it ever occurred to me that I might not adore my daughter. Because as soon as I heard her screaming cry, and saw Curt cradling her, calling her our beautiful girl, I was hooked. Then comes two years later I have a new life squirming inside me. How could I truly love this one as much as I love/loved Tatum? How could I split my heart in half? I worried about this the whole time I was carrying McKenzie. The day she came screaming and flailing, I knew how to do it, it felt so natural. It just so happens that your heart splits into two equal halves, and remains that way forever. My daughters are my greatest love, and I know that it would shatter me to the very core if they ever grow up. There is no joy like that of a mother who's children are thriving, no happiness like that of a mother who knows that right now, in this moment her daughters are safe, cheerful, and growing.

We're leaving now

So I never thought that I would get to the point where leaving the house was a chore. Here's Curtis watching tv while I'm running around with my head cut off trying to get me, Tatum and McKenzie ready to go. Me, well I just throw on what I can find as long as it's not too wrinkled and call it good. Tatum, she's like trying to dress an octopus. McKenzie, well she's probably the easiest one there is, as long as you don't have to put anything but a onsie on her. So we are all dressed now, time to get everything else ready. Make at least one bottle for McKenzie, two or three if we might be gone longer than an hour. Keep one eye on Tatum, cause as hard as it is to dress her, she can undress in amazing speeds. The diaper bag has diapers for both, onsie for McKenzie just in case, and a whole slew of other nonsense that's probably not really needed but it's in there to keep the bag heavy. Ok, now we Take a look at Tatum-still has her clothes on, good. Grab McKenzie and put her in her car seat(if she's not already there from napping in it). My gosh do they have to make those straps soo hard to snap? It's not like we're going to be able to get them off. Now we try and get Curt's attention away from the computer or TV, whichever stole it. Usually this takes a couple times, he'll look away from the computer just to find the TV is on, and oh it's amazing. Turning the TV off usually helps but it takes a second for him to notice, not sure why that is. While he's getting up and grabbing the two things he needs(Sunglasses and keys), I try and rush to grab my stuff(keys, phone, wallet etc.). I should really just keep all that stuff in my pockets at all times, note to self... So we make it to the door, Tatum is still dressed, amazing! Open it, and I have this crazy thought that I forgot something, and oh swing around to grab McKenzie from the living room, whew. One of these days I swear we'll make it to the car without her. Grab McKenzie, who now weighs 50+lbs in her carseat, take her to the door and set her down for Curt to carry. Get everyone out the door, lock it, take Tatum's hand, and make it to the car. Curt has the easy job of just snapping the car seat in it's base. While I on the other hand must wrestle with Tatum to get her to get in the car, she wants to go so bad in the house, but once she's in the car it's just a stupid idea. Got her strapped in, finally, remember octopus. Curt and I finally get in the car, seat belts on, check. Start the car and away we go. Was this all worth a trip to Steak and Shake for dinner? Once we get halfway through the apartments, I realize I forgot the diaper bag, but I don't say anything. I really don't want to backtrack at this point, she'll live...

Happily Married!

So I haven't posted about us since “the beginning”. We are married now! Beautiful small wedding at The Armstrong Hotel in Fort Collins, Colorado. We even had our one night honeymoon there, oh how I wish it were more than one night. Anyway, I am now officially a “Flowers”, love that name, it's so colorful. I married the man of my dreams. My husband's name is Curtis and he helped make our two beautiful daughters, Tatum who is 2 and McKenzie who is 3 months. He dislikes ranch, confrontation and people who take themselves too seriously. He has random taste in music and he loves the outdoors. To remind you, In September 2009 we welcomed our beautiful daughter, Tatum, into our world. She makes life worth living and we love her more and more every day. Upon her arrival, Curt and I metamorphosed from reasonable adults to THOSE PARENTS. We became baby wearing, formula feeding, colic living people who can make anything into a toy and hold their own in a conversation about the colors of poop. We had no idea what was going on in the world at large though. You know the sort. Now in August of 2011 we welcomed another beautiful girl, McKenzie at 7lbs 6oz and 21 inches long. What a beautiful little girl she is, what a crazy idea we had. She is the complete opposite of Tatum as far as temperament goes. She goes to bed somewhere around midnight, but amazingly wakes up most days around 8. She'll have a bottle for breakfast, play for a little while with me and then go back to sleep. Who could've thunk it, a baby that is ok with being put down every now and then? I'll tell you more about McKenzie later, she's great. Tatum is great too, let's not forget her(ha, like we could)....

Up high

Recently I looked around our small overstuffed apartment and noticed- there's nothing lower than 3 feet that's not a child's toy. This bothers me because it tells me that our two year old Tatum is taking over the world, one tiny apartment at a time. We are the parents, rulers, dictators, but why is our child causing us to move to the ceiling? Our 3 month old daughter(McKenzie) even has to be put up high to avoid the wrath of Tatum. My husband is usually the one to bring McKenzie in from the car, the first thing he does is set her on the coffee table in her car seat. I immediately freak out with thoughts of McKenzie upside down still strapped securely into her seat. I drop everything to rush over and put her in a higher place, not realizing that I've now left some good things for Tatum to get in to. Ugh how much should we let her get away with? She has this amazing ability to stick her bottom lip out and water her eyes, we call this “the lip”. I've noticed “the lip” doesn't come out with me, it comes out with daddy and works like a charm. All he has to do is say one thing in a stern voice and BAM! There's the lip and here's a hug and cuddle from daddy. How much sense does that make? I say something in a stern voice and it floats through the air and out the window. What am I doing wrong that my voice doesn't work anymore? Maybe I should have her ears and eyes checked cause something isn't working the way it should in those parts. The other day Tatum was in her room while I went outside on the patio to breath, she got to her window and started banging on it. Try telling a 2 year old to stop banging on the window when they can't hear you. She thought this was hilarious and started banging more, thinking that me pointing at the window meant I wanted her to do that. Losing my mind I walking back inside to her room, by the time I got there she was quietly sitting on the bed reading a book she found. This brings me to another phenomenon, quiet really doesn't always mean bad things, but check anyways. I've notice since Tatum was about a year old that every now and then she will go to her room and the house gets unnervingly quiet. I usually walk back there very quietly as not to disturb her so I can catch her in the act. I get there all amped up and swing around the corner, just to find her sitting on the floor reading a book! Whats with this behavior? I've never seen such a thing. Why is it that when I assume that she's getting into trouble, she's reading a book? When I assume she's just reading a book, she's actually getting into trouble. Ok as far as books go, they HAVE to be cardboard or they don't live for more than an hour. If you come to our apartment you will notice remnants of lost books, magazines, manuals, and important documents scattered wherever they can fit. Professional paper shredder is what Tatum will be when she grows up. I brought a magazine home from the store the other night and my husband had the amazing idea to let Tatum read it, which she did. Five minutes later I look over and my magazine is now a 2000 piece puzzle that I need to either put back together(ha) or pick up and vacuum. Speaking of.......