Little J

Meet Little J.  The "name" is fitting considering some say he is the spitting image of my husband (and he just loves when you say that).  He's 14 months and he's a handful to say the least.  He's 18 months younger than his sister and he is already giving her a run for her money as "head of the household."  Stubborn is a good word I'd use for him.  Well, and drama queen.  That's a good one too.  I just wonder where he gets that from?

The one thing I just love about him is that he loves to cuttle.  Miss C was never really like that as a baby.  Maybe it's the difference between boys and girls.  I dunno, but I love it.  If you ask him, he'll give you the best open mouth kiss followed by the biggest bear hug.  The kind that just melts a mama's heart.  He's also really shy and if given any attention by a female stranger, he'll bury his head in your neck and play coy.  The ladies just love it.  I think I'm in trouble when he gets older.

He just loves his sister.  Nothing else in the world can make his face light up as much as it does when she walks into the room.  Too bad she isn't always the nicest to him!  He loves it when she sings to him, but heaven forbid he try to dance...."No Little J!  Don't dance!"  Which only makes him laugh even more.  He's trying to communicate and can get out words for ball, yes, bye-bye, banana, that, and uh oh.  He is a complete motor mouth even though he is the only one that understands what he is saying.  His favorite game is peek-a-boo.  Especially when he is getting yelled at.  He puts one little hand over his eyes.  Yeah, like I can't see you anymore.....ahh, to be one and think you are invisible when you put your hand over your eyes....

His favorite food is a banana.  I swear he would eat them all day if he could.  Some days I'm tempted since he is a terrible eater.  Miss C was so good at it and to this day will eat almost everything (and will definitely at least try it).  But Little J, he's a different story.  Frustrating doesn't even begin to describe it.  Ugh, mealtime has become one of my least favorite times of the day.  He also loves balls.  Man that boy can throw.  Boston Red Sox, here we come.  He also likes to bang and hit things.  All boy all the time.  

Queen Bee

Meet Miss C.  Yeah, she pretty much wears the pants in the family.  I hate to admit it, but a 2 1/2 year old has totally taken over this household.  She's got spunk and I love it.  Her favorite thing in the whole wide world is Lightening McQueen.  That girl is obsessed.  To the point that she wears the same two Lightening McQueen t-shirts everyday.  Not to mention that she wears Lightening McQueen underwear.  Oh yes, my princess is a total tomboy.  The best part is that she insists on wearing her underwear backwards.  Why you ask?  Because the genius that made them decided to put the pictures on the backside.  Obviously not someone with a toddler.  And heaven forbid I tell her the shirts and underwear are dirty.  Her response?  "Mama, I wanna be dirty".  Gotta love her.  She also stalks the laundry and proudly announces "I think these are dry.  I can put them on now" when the said shirts and underwear come out of the dryer.  You think I would smarten up and buy enough of the same shirt and pair of underwear to at least last me a week.....

Other things she is obsessed with?  Tractors, airplanes, lawn mowers (who knows!), cement mixers (for some reason these are Maters), trucks, cars, helicopters, and just about anything boy.  In fact, right now she is watching a cement mixer across the street (our neighbor is having work done to his house).  I think there is a permanent nose print on my window.  Let's just say she makes her daddy proud.  

But there is a little glimmer of hope.  She loves the color pink.  Right now she has this "kitty pink shoes" that are sparkly and fabulous and she loves to wear them everywhere.  They are the kind that light up when she walks.  Like I said, fabulous.  I'm determined to get the inner princess out one of these days.

She also loves to be naked.  Don't ask me why.  Maybe it's because it's the summer.  Maybe because clothes are just too constricting.  I dunno.  I have a hippie child I guess.  Most of the time I can convince her to at least wear her underwear.  That's about it.  Well, underwear and the pink sparkle shoes. 

Some of her other favorite things?  Bubbles, bubbles, and more bubbles.  She also loves "Old Mother Goose".  That's her favorite book of all time (and has been since before she was a year old).  We have two very loved copies and it's requested every-night at bedtime.  Twinkle, twinkle.  As in, "Mommy that is my favorite song."  She also loves talking on the phone, singing "Baa Baa Black Sheep" to her brother (for some reason she gets a total kick out of this and he loves it), smelling everything before trying it ("What's this smells like"), Mickey Mouse, fake tattoos, water drains (as in the water run-offs on the sidewalks--bonus if there is trash in it), ants and other bugs, band-aids ("I don't feel better, I need a band-aid"), and just about anything else she is not supposed to be doing!

By the way, this costume was mine when I was a little girl.  I wore it to my first ballet recital.  I just love that she plays dress up in it.  I won't say how old it is, but let's use the term "ancient" and just leave it at that!

C is for Chaos

Well, I think the title about says it all.  It wasn't as hard coming up with a word that sums up our lives as I thought it would be.  *sigh*.  At least it's accurate.  I finally broke down and decided to start a blog after years of contemplating it.  If everyone is jumping off the bridge, I might as well too.  I'm hoping to look back one day and chuckle at the madness.  Plus there is the added bonus of documenting the lives of my kiddos.  You know, the "real" them.  The good, the bad, the ugly.  I've been feeling incredibly guilty about not keeping track of stuff beyond the first year.  They are really starting to develop their "personalities" (yeah, that's what we'll call it) and I kind of want to capture every minute of it.

I guess a little background.....We're the "C" family (yeah, everything is going to be initials since I'm a freak about private information on the internet) and we're the typical suburbia family.  You know, the 2.3 kids, the house with a fence, the dog, the fish.  Typical America.  I'm "A" and I've been married to "J" for almost 5 years.  We have two beautiful children, "Miss C" and "Little J".  Miss C is a feisty 2 1/2 year old and Little J is almost 15 months.  To say our lives are busy is an understatement. 

So, welcome to our own little slice of chaos.....I hope you enjoy the ride!