Playing Catch-up Again!

This will be yet another picture-catch-up post, as I am determined to get these things posted before I forget! Life with a new baby and a preschooler is really hectic...and I think Ive said, "I think Grady is turning a corner and deciding to be an easy baby afterall..." about 5 times, only to be met with more puke or crazy diapers or other tear-inducing drama from our youngest child.  Sigh.  I just keep telling him, "We'll get there, Dude." because eventually, he will outgrow this gassy phase and decide to join the party with smiles and happiness :) But for now, it is a bit of "survival of the fittest" with some really sweet moments thrown in just to make sure we see how worth it this chapter will be in the coming months ahead :) 

So the pictures are totally out of order, but I will try to give the play by play and help it all make sense:

I had this whoooole post written in my head, alllll about how awesome Eric is and what an AMAZING daddy he is, and telling all the great stories and giving examples of what makes him the WORLD'S! BEST! DAD!!.....but I tend to "write" those kinds of awesome posts as Im feeding Grady at 3am, or as Im drifting back to sleep.  By the time I wake up or have time, all my creative juices have stopped flowing and I am forced to listen to that voice in my head that is saying, "Just get the pics up...dont worry about writing too much...the kids will be up soon and you dont have time...and you have to shower at some point, and brushing your teeth is not optional....so just get the pics blogged and then you can worry about words later."

Alas..it was Eric's birthday on Monday.  Everyone say, "HAPPY BIRTHDAY, ERIC!"

This was not an easy task, as Whitney is three.  And silly.  And has opinions.  And says things that dont even make sense.  But it was fun/funny to do :)

Grady cooperated about as well as Whitney...

Trying to take pics of our kids by myself was not easy.  I know it is only going to get more difficult before it will get easier, but I did the best I could given the time constraints (we had severallllll failed attempts throughout last week and had to keep putting it off to one (or both!) of the kids was in a better mood.)

I wanted the pics to be "better", but then I realized that they are pics of our kids...the two cutest kids we know, and that makes them the BEST pics ever :)

Im hoping to have my act together in time to write that amazing post about Eric just in time for Father's Day next month :) Stay tuned....

Whitney had her last day of preschool last Friday.  Im not sure she understands that she wont be going to school for a few months, but she sure enjoyed the end-of-the-year pool party and water slide day, complete with cupcakes and goodies!

Here she is on her first day back in August:

She looks SOOOO much older to me! Her little baby face is growing up :(

Whitney had a really great first year in school, and LOVED her teachers, Ms. Kari and Ms. Brandi! Im excited to see Whitney's friendships grow as her classmates are all returning to Lakeside and will be in the same three-year-old class in August :) 

Picture out of place, but still super cute :)

From a pool day last weekend..LOVE that bathing suit!

Friday evening, Eric's mom and stepdad arrived to meet Grady and visit with family.  I am fairly certain I have a picture of Debbie holding Whitney the same way, in the same spot :) 

Whitney just loves her Papa Butch! They didnt get the chance to play catch this visit, but she was happy to see her grandparents and get some laughs with Papa Butch :)

I am starting to embrace the fact that this phase/age in Whitney's life will forever be remembered in silly-smiles and belly laughs :) 

I was really happy when Crystal offered to snap some pics of the four of us since we were all dressed, bathed, and relatively happy (Grady may have killed that stat.) I used to be so good about asking people to take our pics, and I always knew I had the "monthly chair pics" to count on, but we arent doing the family chair pics anymore (maybe every now and then, but nothing planned), and I have dozens of frames needing updated pics since Grady arrived on the scene!

Once again...silly face from the Whitterbug :)

Whitney loves all her cousins more than any other play dates in town, so she was thrilled to have Kyle and Dean join us while Grandma Debbie and Papa Butch were in town.  I know Ive said it a hundred times before, but I am always impressed with how AWESOME these boys are towards Whitney.  They are so patient and they listen to her and encourage her and make her laugh so hard!

Whitney and Dean enjoyed bomb pops poolside after hours of fun in the pool! And of course Dean taught Whitney the childhood fun of checkin' out your friends' multi-colored tongue after popsicle eating :) 

LOVE them.  Might have Dean come and spend some days with us this Summer...give him some pool time and something to do while his big bro is out of town on a mission trip, and it will help me keep Whitney occupied really make Whitney sooo happy to have him to herself :) 

This itsy bitsy frog join in the fun on the porch and Whitney was so happy to hold him. "Hey widdle guy! Your soooo widdle!" (little)

Debbie's parents stopped by for a brief visit later in the day.  I always love seeing them, and especially love when we all remember to snap pics of the great grandparents with a few of their great grandkids.  Grady was sleeping the entire time they visited, or I wouldve loved to see him in this picture, too. 

Same bating suit, different day:

Eric found a kite in the garage (thank you Easter Bunny!) and Tropical Storm Beryl sent us just enough wind to make the kite fun!

Ariel almost landed on the pool screen a few times, but Whitney was so happy her Daddy "got da kite to fwy soooo high!"

Side note: how hot is my husband? I know, right? 

He's even hotter with a pink princess wand. 

Picture out of order, but I am too lazy to move it...

A favorite bestie of mine, Mandy, had her amazing Kindergartener, Brooklyn, record herself reading this bedtime story to Whitney.  Its seriously the cutest gift ever, and one that we will cherish for years and years! Such a great idea, right? I know! That Mandy is so smart.  I cant wait for Whitney to reach an age where the girls can send books back and forth to one another, each getting to read the other a bedtime story from a gazillion miles away. (Stupid Illinois. Why ya gotta be so far away!?)

aaaand, we're back to kite flying...

I believe the following pics are from my cell phone....

This is Grady's "daddy face", as it perfectly mimics a facial expression Eric makes. Too funny!

(And right after I snapped this winner, Grady launched his SECOND bottle of the day, all over the place. I promptly began crying, called my dad, and had him come pick Whitney up so I could get Mr. Pukeypants to the pediatrician. A) THANK GOD for my parents who have been amazingly helpful as we transition to being a family of four.  B) THANK GOD for a pediatrician who got us in quickly and without questions. and C) All is well now that we have ruled out any serious issues.  I will spare you the sad, tearful details of the trip to the children's hospital where Grady had to have an ultrasound that seemed to take 20 hours. Poor dude.)

This is how our days start......two happy kids.....by 5pm, I was craving pinot grigio and 5 minutes of alone time in the shower.  Just tellin' it like it is....

Whitney started swim lessons at the YMCA last Saturday.  Eric took her because we all know the horror stories of kids hating swim lessons, and this momma's nerves are already shot to hell.  He sent me this pic from the lessons and said she was happy and excited.  He sent me a few cute videos of her obeying the instructor and kicking her feet as the teacher held her. Cute. Happy. Fun. Right?

Notsomuch.  Apparently the fun came to a screeching halt when Whitney saw the kid at the front of the line go under water.  The kid was fine and didnt cry, but Whitney is no dummy and she knew her turn was coming.  She turned around the Eric and said, "Daddy? I dont want to do dat." And it unraveled from there.

She says she is excited to go back this coming Saturday, and that she will go under water this time, but we'll see.  She actually did a great job practicing her new skills (that she watched the other kids tackle) in our pool last night, so Im hoping she is building her confidence to get past this fear of swimming phase.  She LOOOOOVES the pool.  But absolutely does NOT want to put her pretty little head under water.  The swim class is five weeks long....i am not sure I will make it to any of the classes since Im already "the mean parent".  Its Eric's turn to be the bad guy for a minute. I cant watch. 

Here is Grady, sleeping peacefully in my arms while we waited for his ultrasound at the Childrens Hospital.  Again, I have an entire post written in my head about what its like to sit in the waiting room with sick kids and sad babies.  I was SOOOO grateful that Grady slept through most of the waiting since he wasnt allowed to eat anything before the ultrasound. (I may or may not have slipped him an ounce of a bottle in the bathroom before I went to the waiting room...shhhhh.)

Whitney has been soooooooooooo good lately! It must be hard to see Grady get so much attention, especially with all his puke issues, but she just goes with the flow and continues to make us laugh every day. She repeats EVERY. SINGLE. WORD I say to Grady.  Not joking...not even exagerrating. EVERY single word I speak to Grady, Whitney repeats it in the same tone.  It was darling at first.  Now? Six weeks in? I am about to blow up.  We are working on it though. 

She has been interested in writing her letters more and more lately, and was sooooo proud of her "W", "T", "H" here.  I cant help but realize it is sorta close to "WTH!?" as in, "What the heck?! Why do you keep copying me!?" 

Eric snapped this pic as he headed out the door for work one day last week.  Thankfully, Grady has been a pretty great night time sleeper (and really, he's not a bad day time sleeper...he is just so all over the place with his eating that I never know if he is crying because he's hungry again, or crying because he is overtired.....I learned that feeding him was not always wise since he would overeat and then launch a bottle on me. Now that we have his formula figured out, I think we are safe and he is happier each day, so getting on a schedule should be easier.( i know...im even laughing at myself..."easier"...yeah right.)

And with that....I am putting this post to bed :) 

Back with more Disney cuteness soon!