This one is more...

more complex

more challenging

more rewarding

more responsible

more imaginative

more frustrating

more interesting than I ever thought a child could possibly be. 

McCord at 2 years old was quite possibly the hardest year Bo and I have ever had, but we all made it through, and there on the other side was a fascinating, remarkable 3 year old.  And now here we are another year older with the usual 4 year old challenges, but every once in a while we get a glimpse of this old soul as if he is an old man. 

Tonight after the boys were in bed, I made my way upstairs to wash clothes in the laundry room which is adjacent to the boys' bedroom, but I stopped before I got to the top of the stairs because I heard Mc singing.  He started participating in choir at church a few weeks ago, and it's not unusual to hear him "practicing" when he thinks he's all alone.  How I wish I could have recorded his sweet little voice singing his heart out to God in what can only be described as a stream of consciousness prayer interspersed with the days of the week and a few nonsense words.  It went something like this:

"I love you, I love you. Thank you for my cousins and my friends..."

A few days of the week were sung - not necessarily in the right order. Then,

"And God, can you please tell Santa Clause thank you for Catfish [my very special buddy whom I sleep with every night].

A few more days of the week...

"And thank you for my Batman castle. And all the parts that go with it."

...and then things got a bit muffled here, but I'm fairly certain I could make it out,

"But there's just one thing I don't understand, God. Why can't you just kill all the mosquitos?"


Absolutely delighting in the gift of hearing what's on McCord's heart, and half-crouched on the stairs, straining my ear to the crack in the door, I cried a happy, humble tear at the gift of being a mother. 

The days are long, redundant, and thankless.  And sometimes, many times you feel as though you've made a mess of things.  But every now and then you find yourself holding your breath, a heap of dirty laundry, and a tender moment.  And it makes it all worthwhile. 

Catfish and Batman

McCord is 3 Years Old

...and what fun it is!

Birthday daiquiri tradition: 2 years old & now 3

It's amazing when I look back on McCord at 2 years old and now at 3 and see how much he's changed.  It's been a big year for this little guy.  Here are a few milestones:

• learned what it means to be a big brother
• potty trained 
• started his first year of preschool
• saw some amazing leaps in terms of language development
• learning ABC's and counting
• first trip to Urgent Care and got stitches in forehead

Probably the biggest thing that defines Mc right now is his interest in knights and all things medieval.  Several months ago, he discovered the knight helmet in the dress-up area of the children's museum, and he's been sold ever since.  He talked about it for weeks after our museum visit, so I finally ordered him one, and it's become a staple to his wardrobe.  Bo and I think he likes it so much because it has a little movable "window" that he can use to shield his eyes, and this seems to suit his shy nature. When he wears his helmet, he can be present with everyone, but just a little bit removed and protected behind his "armor." We've checked out all the books at the library about knights, dragons, and castles, and we even had a little medieval birthday playdate with some of his preschool classmates. We talk a lot about knights and their bravery these days - trying to spin this interest into a character lesson about helping others, doing what's right, and living with integrity.  

Good night, knight. 

Sir McCord helping me get set up for his medieval birthday playdate

I bought the invitation and all of the decorations from this graphic designer on etsy (I cannot  say enough good things about her!).  She customized everything  and all I had to do was print. I'm not sure how messages were delivered in medieval times, but McCord helped me put the invitations in bottles.  Since we only had a few of his preschool classmates over, we hand delivered most of them, but two of them we mailed through the postal system - bottle and all.  All we had to do was put stamps on them.   

Mc's official birthday was Monday, but we did a lot of celebrating over the weekend so Bo could be a part of the fun. We tucked Wade in a little bit early on Sunday night, so both Bo and I could be with Mc as we did evening storytime and prayers.  We crawled in his bed and told him the story about the day he was born, recalling the first time we saw him and the nurse shouted out, "it's a boy!" Now that same little boy has grown into a three year old almost over night.  We had a tough year, but I'm so proud of who he is.  McCord has an incredible imagination, he's creative, sweet, and thoughtful.  And I just love the way he wrinkles up his nose and laughs at himself.  He loves to make forts, play in his sandbox, and fix stuff.  He's always game for a craft project, and it's not unusual to hear him singing to himself while he uses the bathroom.  He's McCord: sometimes complex, sometimes shy, always interesting. 

Cupcake party at Mc's preschool.  He was so proud to have his little brother there. 

Mr. Safety, always prepared, because you never know when you might just get up the courage to jump in the water (takes him at least 1/2 hour)

One of the things we gave Mc for his birthday was a flashlight that you strap to your forehead.  He loves to look at his books in his bed in the evening after we turn the lights out, and he immediately put it on when he unwrapped it.  That night I walked past Mc's room as Bo was tucking him in for the night.  They were both curled up on the window seat in Mc's room, reading a Bible story together as they do every night.  It was completely dark in the room, except for Mc's head light shining a tender glow on the two of them.  It's funny how a singular moment will pierce your heart in such a way that it moves you to tears. One son, the baby, already fast asleep and the other son, enjoying a simple but sweet father-son moment. For that instant, everything felt all right in the world.  And I thought for the millionth time in my life how much I love being a mother.

Stitches

Bo and I were in the hospital shortly after I delivered Wade when one of Bo's co-workers sent a congratulatory text message on having 2 boys in the family now.  He mentioned something about "welcome to the world of broken bones and ER visits." Well, we got a taste of our first Urgent Care visit last week when McCord went flying through the air and bumped his head.  I wasn't exactly sure how it happened at first.  I was in our room folding laundry, Wade was in the exersaucer in the boys' room, and Mc was running back and forth between the two rooms at faster than fast speed, which is how 2 1/2 year old boys travel. He tripped and hit his head on a chair, and came up with a huge hole in his head.  He cried for a few seconds, and never cried again - even when the doctor put 2 shots in his forehead to anesthetize the area and stitch him up.  I was amazed at how brave and calm this otherwise bundle of energy was.

We go to get the stitches removed tomorrow, and I hope that will be our last visit to Urgent Care for a long time.

Before stitches

After stitches

Christmas Eve-Eve after it's had a few days to heal

The other day, Wade was napping and McCord and I were enjoying some rare one-on-one time playing together outside.  He decided he wanted to make a fort out of his slide, so we gathered up a quilt and some books.  He crawled in his fort and said, "Mama come in!"  I am so glad that I had my phone on me because I was able to capture a picture of this moment that makes my heart overflow with joy every time I see it.  He wants me to be a part of his world!  I love McCord's world - it's so imaginative and magical - yes, of course I will come in!  And so I found myself rolling around on the grass trying to fit my 32 year old self into a space made for toddlers because I couldn't stand the thought of not being a part of McCord's world.  I know all too well, that the day is coming when it is no longer cool for Mama to make a fool of herself trying to squeeze into McCord's forts, but for now, he wants me!  And that makes me happy.  

"Mama, come in!" 

We had to replace our hot water heater, and we couldn't get our hands on the box fast enough.  

It made the perfect rocket ship. 

This was the day McCord introduced us to his imaginary friend Taygee.  She flew to the moon with us, and since then, she's been taking naps with McCord.  At night, Mc asks me to blow her a kiss before I close the door.  In the morning, I have to give her a piggy back ride down the stairs.  One morning I noticed that Mc had wet through his diaper and I said, "McCord, you wet the bed last night."  He responded, "No...Taygee."  

Even the inside of the rocket ship got custom detailed.  

Discovery Place Kids

McCord's also been calling me Mom lately.  I'm not sure I'm ready for that.  

Preschool Day Hooray!

Today was McCord's first day of Preschool and no one is more shocked than I that we made it into the classroom at drop off with no tears.  McCord, my normally shy and reserved child, may very well have been the most excited child there and was literally bouncing with excitement!

He was so proud to wear his school bus t-shirt and pants. 

Tuesday he got to meet both of his teachers, Mrs. Martha and Mrs. Helen, in his new classroom.  He had three questions about preschool: will I get a snack snack; will I get to go outside; and will I get to paint? In that order.

Matching outfits for Wade and Mc for the special occasion.

We've been doing lots of talking about preschool and what to expect, because you just never know what their little minds are thinking.  Thankfully, it all went well - and I contribute that mostly to this book that we've been reading lately.

One of my friends graciously took this just before dropping Mc off - love that Wade with his jolly self is even smiling for McCord. 

Here's Mc all tuckered out after a busy day playing and learning. Doesn't he look especially collegiate?

Not sure if this is the school's tradition, but there was a bunny in the lobby for all of the children to greet. Mc loved meeting "Shirley."  We got his monogrammed seersucker backpack from this seller on etsy. 

And what did we take home to remember the day by?  McCord's own self portrait!