Poor sport

Tula crying because she wants her "ball back". It's hard to see them learn these basic, simple lessons in life. She was so sad, but its the name of the game. After I explained it to her a bit she was back in there and no more tears.

MVP

A clip of Tula playing football with the boys. She was into the whole thing, even got on top of a few dogpiles. Check her out in the beginning screaming at the "boys" to throw her the ball.

FIFTEEN months old!

All week I have had it in my head that I needed to do Maverick's 16 month update and have been telling people since the 22nd that he is 16 months old, yet when I sat down and thought about it tonight and began to write this, I now realize he is only 15 months old, and I basically just gained a month back with him that I never even knew I lost. So THAT was exciting!

Maverick John is now 15 months old and I guess I probably say this every month but he truly captures all of our hearts more and more as the days go by. He is, by far, on of the most lovable, huggable, cuddliest and happiest toddlers I know. He is at this super fun stage that I remember from Tula where it is BEFORE the "terrible twos" where the tantrums begin, but after that baby stage where he can't do much. Every day is something new, and its usually words. And to be able making progress in the communication department with your child is such a wonderful feeling. It feels like unwrapping a gift you have had sitting in front of you your entire life. With every new word that comes out of his mouth, I realize that there is an understanding behind it, and that he is able to somewhat communicate his thoughts to me, although they are so simple, it just feels like I finally get a glimpse inside this precious package I have waited forever to know its contents.

New words this month? There are lots. But the fun thing is, this month it's not all nouns. He isn't just going around naming things. These are fun new words. like a big "Noooo" to Tula (sometimes even with a headshake) if she does something he doesn't like like take a toy from him or push or pull at him. Tonight he asked for "ka-kow" while they were watching Mickey before bed, this is popcorn. John came downstairs to get me just come come up and listen to Mav say it over and over and over, begging for popcorn. He says "hot" very dramatically to anything that actually is, and always tries to blow on his food if I say its hot now. Sometimes when he is hugging me or snuggling me he just says "mama" over and over. When we say "No More Monkeys..." he shakes his finger like I do and tries to shake his head. He also likes to shake his head "yes" and always looks so cheerful doing it with his great big smile.

One of Maverick's favorite activities right now is brushing his teeth. Except for that he is the only one allowed to touch the toothbrush. He loves to climb up onto the stool that Tula brushes her teeth at and stand there with the water running, dipping mine or Daddies toothbrush under that water and sucking any toothpaste flavor off of it. That's his version of brushing his teeth, and he can spend long stretches of time entertaining himself with this activity. Maverick loves to play dress up with his sister, his favorite thing to wear is the fireman coat and boots, and his dinosaur costume from Halloween. He will do anything for a laugh and sometimes after I help him get a costume on he just runs around with a big grin on his face trying to get people to laugh at him. Maverick likes to give high fives now. He loves to wrestle with Daddy, he is such a rough and tumble boy and loves to be tossed around a bit. Loves to be tickled, screams with delight and does his big, deep laugh. Maverick loves his Black and Decker tool set he got for his birthday and anytime we bring those out he has to carry at least one of them in his hand all day long. This month he fell in love with the flashlight, and got especially excited when i showed it to him in his cabinet and made that big black hole light up. That night, he wanted to take the flashlight on our walk and was fascinated with how it lit up and brightened things outside. Mav is always so intrigued with anything that has a function, how it operates and works. If there is a wheel spinning, he is bent over staring figuring out what's making it move like that. Maver still LOVES his bottle at nap and bedtime, and gets to watch a little tv at those times as well that he thoroughly enjoys. HIs sleeps routine is usually the same as Tula now, only napping once a day. He will have a little one in the morning if we are out and about in the car, but his big nap in the afternoon he takes the same time as his sis so they get to watch an episode of Mickey Mouse Clubhouse (what did I ever do before my DVR?) and then goes for a snuggle in his room on his rocking chair with a bottle. I toyed with the idea of trying to take his bottle from him this month, but he loves it and it makes nap and sleep time so much easier, the pain it would cause is not worth that gain at this point, so he is still getting one. Maverick loves to chase his sister around the house, and loves even more when she chases him. They play together so, so much right now. They have started fighting a bit over the usual stuff, mostly toys. Tula is still pretty bossy and pushy but Mav is figuring out he is bigger so her gig is almost up.

One thing I am realizing that is very different with Maverick than I had it with Tula is that we really don't know anyone his age. With Tula, we were connected to few different Momm groups with kids born within a few months of Tula. There were lots of comparisons, forewarnings of what to expect, and learning from each other. And although I remember all of the stages we went through with Tula, it is impossible to remember the order. I guess it just makes it interesting with Mav, everything is a guessing game and we never know what to expect next. When it happens, when we hit the "next stage" we remember them all, but we just never know what to expect. For example, Mav has blown me away with his talking this month. I mean, I knew it was coming, I knew it was next on the list, but I just wasn't expecting it so on, and the words he comes up with makes it seem like its happening so much faster than it really is. To be honest, as much as I love my friends with kids the same age Tula and all the love and fun they bring into our life, its fun to have one that doesn't really have anyone to compare to, and every month brings a new surprise of his own. Keeps Mommy on my toes, thats for sure.

Maver telling us about the hot oven

You can tell by this video he has been told a time or two. Love how Tula tells him at the end to "just blow on it". Kids say the darndest things.

Mav is 14 months old!

I fall more and more in love with my son everyday. From his deep baby blues to his blonde curly locks...his ginormous smile and infectious giggle. His burly big boy movements and his bigger heart. I fall deeper and deeper and deeper in love. This age, just after one, is such a precious time. I am forever grabbing Mav and smothering him with kisses, I can hardly walk by him at this point without giving him a squeeze. All the cuddles he has wanted all these months has got me hooked, I can't live without them either. He still comes up to cuddle me lots, but most of the time right now I get to him first.

At 14 months old, I can't help but remember that Tula, at this time, became a big sister. I look and Maverick and although he is becoming such a "big boy" in so many ways, I cannot imagine him as a big brother. He is still so much my baby. On the other hand, I am really feeling like I have two "big kids" and miss having a little tiny one to hold. I just cannot imagine bringing home a little one to Mav at this age. Mav, you gotta give credit to your big sister, she did so good bringing you home and accepting you when she was just a babe herself. I can honestly say, at this point, Mav would not react near as well to having a new baby in the house as his sister did. I guess its a bit of an unfair accusation, as we will never know what might have been. But their personalities are different, and for a few reasons, I just don't think Mav would have been ready to be a big bro at this age.

This month hasn't brought a lot of big changes. You still love boys toys, you still love to watch tv before your nap and before bed for a bit. You LOVE your bottle, and I have tried a couple times to not give it to you and you lose your mind. You are definitely not one of those kids that walks around with one hanging out of your mouth, but you like one when you first wake up and freak if its not the first thing we do in the morning. You like one before your nap and you like one before bedtime. It occurred to me this month that I should probably start weaning you from it, but I am not really into the whole "cold turkey" thing and it seems like you will lose your mind if I don't give you one when you are expecting it. Honestly, it just creates a lot of unnecessary stress for both of us so I am going to give it a few more weeks and try it again, with a few attempts here and there to see where you are at with the whole thing. I don't really have a goal or endpoint in mind, hoping it comes to me when the time is right. Truly, I love your bottle time too. All three of them are a time of day that we are alone and quiet and snuggling. I don't know if I am ready to give on on those times yet either.

This month you went from being petrified of dogs to loving them, I think that is because GG and Papa are here and you have spent some time with their dogs. Oh yeah, this month you had you first sleepover without Mommy at GG and Papas house for TWO nights and they said you did great! The first time we have been apart since I went to Brazil. Mommy and Daddy got to have lots and lots of fun, we went out for lots of dates and slept in and all that fun stuff. We finally found a good Indian food place out here in AZ, we went out one night for sushi, we came home at night and loved the freedom of not having to whisper and tiptoe around. We even had a waterfight in the house! We love you kids so much...but we do love when you stay at GG and Papas and we get to be kids ourselves again. We are all kids at heart, Mav John. And I hope that when you are a Daddy you and your wife take time to yourselves too, to play and to eat fancy and to wrestle on the couch. That is the important stuff, son, and she will treasure those times with you as much as she will treasure her babies. Daddy and me had a wonderful time..but I did miss you guys lots and after two days I was more than ready to snuggle you again. You walked in the door and immediately wanted me and up. No complaints here!

This month you got to go to your first concert. Well not really a concert, I guess, it was a show called Disney Live. We thought you guys would like if after how much you both loved the parade at Disneyland. It was so much fun. Tula actually took a few minutes to get into it, I guess cause she is older the big crowds and darkness before the show freaked her out. But you, from the moment the lights went down, were totally into it. All the bright colors and loud music...you absolutely loved it. The next day we had another big event, and went as a family to our very first Arizona Cardinals game. Mav, you were ever the stud in your Cards hoodie, you were into the game for...oh...about 10 minutes.. and then over it and those chairs were too small to hold your wiggly self. We stayed till halftime and then left so you and sis could sleep. It was a fun day and we were lucky to have friends who got us free seats..but pretty sure that we will wait a few months to attempt that one again. Although you are still at an age where you are considered a lap child, you are not really lap child size, and we need to take that into consideration now more than ever. Mav...you are a moose! You are so tough, so big, so quick, so burly. I constantly hear "He's a BIG boy" from people about you, and you are. You are wider in the shoulders than your sister now. I am not sure but I think you have her beat in weight. You walk around like a little man with you big chest all puffed up and out. You are my hero.

This month we have switch from showering you guys before bed to bathtime and you are a huge fan. You love to splash around in the water, your favorite is when I am filling the tub and I let you stand in there and play with the water coming out of the spout. Tonight you though you were so funny sticking your mouth under the water and swallowing a bit, or putting your face in the tub of water and closing your eyes. Oh, the things that make you smile. You still love after bathtime, when you get to crawl around naked on our bed for a bit. You think that is the best, hiding in the pillows and rolling around laughing and laughing.

Oh, this is big, you had your first haircut this month. Mommy friends Nicole and Pete came to visit and nicole does my hair so she trimmed your up a bit in the back and around the ears. Didn't take much off, not enough to even keep a lock for your baby book, but it did make you look a little more grown up (and handsome-er!) to me. Of course. Even two weeks later, it is starting to get long enough on top that I actually have to put some sort of styling product in there or the curls will just lay flat. I am not sure how much longer I will let it grow, but I don't know if I will ever be able to cut the top...you have beautiful hair, my son.

You love it when I read books to you. You love to shake your finger like I do when we read "No more monkey's jumping on the bed!" You love to clap and dance with Tula and I. You love to wrestle and try and sit on me when I lay on the floor. You love to be tickled. You cuddle your sister, I have found you a few times putting you head on her or trying to make her let you lay your legs on her.

You are MISERABLE when you wake up from your afternoon nap. Absolutely miserable. Ug, I don't even want to think about it. It's THAT annoying.

You got your upper and lower molars on your left side this month...nothing on the right side yet. You like to coloer and steal Tula's pencil crayons and run with them whenever it is her coloring time. You love making your sister chase you for any reason. You squeal with delight. This month you have started running, for sure.

Maverick, you still melt my heart with you big, sloppy, totally wide mouthed kisses that you love to give. You are such a nice and sweet boy, Mommy could not have asked for a more loving boy. I love you so much Maver. Happy 14 months old buddy!

safe

Today John had the day off and so we spent the day as a family out in the yard. John was busy ripping up all the summer grass and throwing down the winter seed. mav was running around in the dirt and Tula was helping me. We were ripping up all the basil and plucking the leaves off to make pesto. There were a bunch of flowers on the end, which is how we know it needed to be pulled up, and it makes for lots of bees around, which freaked me out, of course. John was pulling them up for me and I would occasionally act scared or whatever and Tula could sense I wasn't diggin all the bees around. We were talking abotu them, and I told her not to worry, that she was safe and I would always keep her safe.

"No Mama," she said, "I keep YOU safe."

be still my beating heart. I love that girl.

funny slash scary

...that's how Maverick would describe the loud noises I was making to him tonight. He was scared out of his mind and cracking up at the same time. too much cuteness in one kid.