focusing on the positive

Motherhood has never been that hard for me. The last three years have been the happiest, least stressful years of my life. There have been lots of messes and not a lot of sleep, but no complaints. About life as a single mom, I am not quite as optimistic. It stinks. It is sucking every last drop of of my sanity. I have profound empathy for single mothers. Especially pregnant ones with two crazy toddler boys.

I barely survived this last week while J-P was away. I could write pages about all the naughty, terrible things the boys did...or about how I teetered on the edge of a nervous breakdown. But I don't even want to think about it. Instead, I want to document the positive. The cute things they've said lately (if I can remember them) and the special skills they are acquiring.

Ian is talking up a storm. He has been talking in sentences since he was 18 months old and always tries to say things to make me laugh. He dialogues the entire day. He doesn't stop talking until he surrenders to sleep and usually does about 5-10 minutes of talking with his eyes closed before he finally passes out. He knows his colors and can count to 10 on his own. The other day he even sang the catch phrase of a song he heard on the radio.

He loves to tease us, especially about his bowel movements. Last spring when his talking explosion started, he always joked around about poop. When I smelled something coming from his direction, I immediately asked "Ian, did you you poop?" To which he always responded with a very serious face, "no, Daddy pooped". Or, "no Max pooped". Then he started laughing hysterically. Every time. Other days he would come up to me and say (with a serious face) "pooped, mommy...check it". I would proceed to check his diaper, and at the very same moment I pulled it back and assessed the lack of stool he yelled out "Nope!" and started laughing hysterically again.

Speaking of bowel movements, he is also making them regularly on his potty. The other night he completed one, stood up and said "Did it mommy...pooped a lot!...five!", and he stuck out his hand for me to high five him. His other special skills include (but are not limited to): climbing out of the crib, climbing out of the shopping cart (even when strapped in tightly), climbing out of the stroller (even when tightly strapped in a 4-point harness), and climbing out of the high chair (even when strapped in tightly).

Max has the memory of an elephant. He remembers everything. Sometimes it scares me. When I take clothes out of storage that Max hasn't worn since he was a year old (he was much bigger than Ian) he throws a fit and says "hey, that's my shirt!" as he sees me putting his old shirt on Ian. He remembers names of people and stores that he hasn't seen or been to in months. A few months ago we bought him a train set on craigslist. A few days ago I found an extra box with some bridges and trains in it. When I gave them to Max he asked me where we got them. I told him we got them the day we drove to Phoenix and picked up his train set. He responded "oh yeah, we got them from Chris." Confused, I called J-P and asked him about it. He told me that the guy who posted the craigslist ad was named Chris and that he mentioned his name to me on the drive to pick up the trains.

Max is overcoming his fears and getting a little braver when it comes to swimming and getting close to animals. He is singing primary songs, rehearsing a few nursery rhymes, and expanding his talent of truck/vehicle identification. He always instructs Ian about the trucks and vehicles we see on our outings.

On a not-so-positive note, after his yearly check-up with the allergist we discovered that his peanut allergy has sky-rocketed. Not happy news. His dairy allergy has also gotten worse. He can have wheat now, which was much needed happy news after the blow about the peanut allergy. About 5 minutes before J-P walked in the door from his trip, Max took a bite of a cookie with walnuts in it. His whole body turned bright red and as soon as J-P walked in the door I handed Ian to him and whisked Max off to Urgent care. It was a horrible end to a horrible week and I barely kept it together.

I feel much better after a day of rest and relaxation. A big thanks to those that helped us out this last week. You are all life-savers. Check out the boys night out with aunt Sarah here.

Third Trimester

Today is the first day of my third trimester. I have not been very good at taking pictures, documenting my pregnancy, or blogging. As is evidenced by the picture, I am gaining PLENTY of weight. Too much, in fact. As a result I have gone off of ice cream snickers bars, but I am having terrible withdrawals. Hopefully I pass my glucose test this week.

The boys are happy to be home, but can't understand why I won't let them outside to play. Every day Max insists that "it's not too hot outside mommy, it's juuuuust right." When I respond with "110 degrees is not juuuuust right Max, it's too hot", he has a conniption. Summer days in Arizona are long. Especially for this pregnant, hot, exhausted mother. There is so much to do over the next few months, and I have zero energy for the first time in my life. Today I am writing lots of lists and hope to document my progress here. On the blog. That's right. First on my list is to keep a better record of our happenings. My brain is not an effective place to store my children's milestones and funny stories. Look for them here. Coming soon...

playing in pasco

We have been having a blast playing at grandmas house...not looking forward to heading back to the heat. More pics on flickr.

PNW

Dear Daddy,

We have been having a blast hiking, picking strawberries, playing at the beach, going for walks, riding tractors, and eating FRESH halibut. Grandpa made delicious strawberry jam and makes a fresh strawberry pie everyday. We loved riding the airplane and the big ferry to get to great-grandma's house. We were very good, but Ian cried a little on the plane so mommy sang him the "popcorn" song. Then the lady sitting next to us made mommy sing it 15 more times so she could learn it. We miss you and hope you are having fun riding your bike and watching the Tour de France.

Love,

Max and Ian

p.s. more pics on flickr

enrichment photos

These photos (of an enrichment activity for church) are for Molly, who didn't get to see the final product of our planning. It turned out great and your chicken salad croissant sandwiches were delicious.

p.s. This was such an easy event to clean up...we did box dinners and didn't have dishes to wash or food tables to set up. Most people took their boxes home so there was minimal garbage. Such a great idea and tied in with our "out of the box" theme.

big news

I should be posting about the latest haps at chez scoville, but I am so EXHAUSTED after a week and a half of flying solo while J-P was in Belgium. He made it home safely and brought back the most amazing chocolate I've ever tasted. I was patient and waited to do our ultrasound until he got back. Here is the first picture of our baby girl. I still don't believe it.

delta trip

We spent the week before Memorial day in Delta with J-P's mom. The boys had loads of fun, despite having really high fevers the entire week. I was pretty miserable with morning sickness , but I did my best to appear somewhat congenial. We spent Memorial weekend in Richfield with J-P's siblings. I was thrilled to get a girls' day out with the sister-in-laws and the boys loved hanging out with their cousins. We still can't believe a whole year has passed since J-P's dad's passing.

more pics on flickr...

FLOUR

Who needs toys when mom forgets to lock the pantry?

18 & 16

Ian is officially 18 months old. He did great in nursery, zero tears. He did even better at his appointment today, holding VERY still so the doctor could examine him and not making a peep the whole visit except to tell the doctor "bye-bye" as he walked out. He is a chatterbox...much like his namesakes (his great-grandpa and great-uncle McDonald). He is a fantastic eater. He eats everything I make and always wants seconds. He is ALWAYS happy and never cries unless he gets hurt. When injured, he cries out "BONK, MOMMY, BONK! Kiss it (as he extends the injured body part)." And then the tears subside. He loves to dialogue everything he sees, and usually throws in a random color as well. "White truck...pink flower...black car...etc." The funny part is that he never actually uses the correct color. When we color, he holds up the orange crayon and says "white", then holds the green one and says "blue". I'm not sure if he is colorblind or if he just hasn't figured out the concept of color yet. Here are his stats:

height: 34 1/2 inches (95th percentile)
weight: 23 lbs 8 oz (20th percentile)
head: 18 3/4 inches (50th percentile)

I'm not sure that he is quite that tall, I am a little skeptical of their measuring techniques after seeing Max measured the correct way at the endocrinologist. Max is growing well, by-the-way (75th percentile for height and weight), and we are no longer taking him to any specialists. Huge relief.
I am 16 weeks now. I wish I could say that I'm feeling great, but the morning sickness seems to be lingering and I have zero appetite, not to mention an extremely sensitive gag reflex. J-P is tired of dealing with pregnancy drama and constantly remarks "I sure hope this is a girl, because we are DONE!" I figured I would be sentimental and start documenting my pregnancy with photos in case he is serious. I'm not showing a ton, but at 102 pounds my stomach would be half that thick if it didn't have a baby in it. My doctor doesn't seem worried about my weight loss at all (I have been worried sick), he just says "you will have to gain a lot of weight later on to make up for it." I don't think that will be a problem. Assuming that my appetite returns, that is.

update

It's been awhile. Sorry. I've been sick. Here is an overdue update on our fam:

J-P: Has been traveling. A lot. He went to India in March with his Duke class, and got really sick. He is on a plane home from CA right now, and leaves for Belgium in a few weeks. He is more than thrilled to be able to go back to France while he is there, and has been facebooking his old acquaintances there. He has also joined a cycling group which rides every morning at the crack of dawn.

M-A: Has been SICK. So sick. I finally got to the point where I had to wean Ian cold-turkey in one day so I could take zofran, only to find out that it doesn't work. At least not that well. Between zofran, unisom, acupressure bands, and sips of gatorade, I was able to stay alive. I have thrown up at every eatery within reasonable driving distance, and I will probably never be able to eat mexican food again. I am feeling a little bit better, and my dehydration headache is starting to ease. I can finally drink water again, which is a huge blessing considering how hot it is right now in AZ.

Max: Has taken his vehicle obsession to a whole new level. He is no longer satisfied to announce the color and type of each vehicle that passes us, he is intent on knowing the make as well. He is a little shaky when it comes to identifying shapes, but he can accurately identify a Chevy, Ford, Nissan, Honda, Acura, etc...just by looking at the symbol. "That blue pick-up truck has horns on it mommy, that means it's a dodge ram...Oh look!, that white car has a blue circle on it...that means it's a ford." The other day we were in the parking lot at Lowe's when a teenager in a beat-up nissan drove past us. Max yelled and pointed "LOOK! that car is a NISSAN mommy!" The teenager (who heard everything thanks to an open window) parked his car and angrily strutted over to us with his gangsta limp. He looked at me like he wanted to start a fight. "Excuse me, did he just try to tell me what kind of car I have?", he said with a major attitude. "I'm so sorry, he is a little bit obsessed with cars brands right now..." He cut me off and said "Dude! that is SO cool," and chuckled as he walked into the store.

Ian: Has been talking. A lot. He is a little parrot, and repeats just about everything he hears. He is putting 3 words together--"no, my drink!...outside dig shovel...drink cold water..." and is very good with possessives, "momma's shoe"..." max's crib"..."my blanket"...etc. He loves to read and brings me books all day long. Some of the first words he learned were "book" and "lap" because he loves to sit on my lap and read. He is super sweet and snugly. I am definitely not ready for him to grow up. I am, however, more than ready for him to go to nursery next week! These last 18 months have flown by.