WHERE DO I BEGIN?!

My "to be blogged about" list has gotten out of control! Not only was the list becoming quite lengthy - I've also lost it a few times (and had to work to remember what was on it)! To be honest, with a toddler and a newborn, there just isn't any time for blogging. Actually, there's no "free time" at all really. And what someone might call "free time" isn't exactly "FREE". This time is often used for taking care of needs - taking a shower, eating a meal we skipped, or passing out because we are so exhausted. Being the parents of a nearly 2 year old and a newborn is WONDERFUL. I love it. But I cannot lie - our lives are non-stop. The question at all times is: Are we coming or going? We never know.
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I cannot say enough how MUCH (and LOUD) Grayson talks! A common expression is: He's a chatterbox. But I think of a chatterbox as someone who talks a lot but someone who talks fast and at a medium tone. Our boy is more like...um...a megaphone! ;) He doesn't talk fast (the way I think a "chatterbox" does). He just talks a LOT and LOUD!!!! And his vocabulary expands every day like you wouldn't believe. He mimics a lot of what we say. It is so funny - and often, surprising! There's no way I can remember all he's "parroted" lately...there's just too much. But I have tried to remember some of the funnier things he says.
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My mom recently told Grayson the mobile above Zander's bassinet goes "round and round". Immediately, he said, "round and round and round and round and round". :) And to this day, he talks about how Z's mobile (the one above his bassinet and the one above his bed) go "round and round and round and round". :) He's so funny!
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Another one of Gray's favorite words is "Bees!" Why? Has Grayson already had a bad experience with bees? No, fortunately not! What he's saying is "Please!" :) It's absolutely ADORABLE! Thing is - he says it all the time! When he wants something, whether he's asking for the first time, you already told him "no", or he wants something now and you're too slow getting it, he yells, "BEES!" :) The frustrating thing is that while Grayson definitely understands what "please" means, he prefers to utilize it but not practice it! In other words, he's great about saying "please". It is usually loud and strong, but it is always very sincere. The problem is getting him to do something when we say "please". When we say it, it's like the word is null and void. How does that work? Yeah, that's what we want to know. I guess the best (and only) answer is: Gray is almost 2. That pretty much sums it up.
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G has become quite a pro at pointing out body parts - eyes, nose, mouth, tongue, ears, chest, belly, foot, etc. In that "etc" is the most important part of all to Grayson (at least right now)...HAND. He's always saying, "Hand!" #1, he likes his hands to be clean. When he gets food on them, he says, "Hand! Hand! Hand!" This is way of requesting someone clean his hands. And when we don't get to him fast enough, he yells, "BEES!" :)
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Another reason why he says "hand" a lot is because my mom taught him to touch Zander's hands (and feet). This was a great idea because in the beginning, G always wanted to point out (literally) Z's eyes and touch his mouth. It is incredibly sweet to hear G say, "HAND!" and reach out to hold his little brother's hand. As soon as he touches it or gets ahold of it, he looks up and smiles. :)
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Again, there are so many more things I could blog about. I just can't remember everything. And even if I could, there wouldn't ever be enough time to talk about everything (especially in the detail I like to).
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One thing that's completely unrelated to what I've been talking about is our electricity going off the other evening. As always, losing your electricity is unexpected and annoying. You just don't know what you got until it's gone. We're so lucky isn't wasn't off too long. I think we were without it about an hour. But an hour without electricity with a toddler and a newborn is...well, not fun. Of course, it went out just as night was falling (and darkness was falling). Grayson was eating supper, and Zander was napping....until our neighbor knocked on our front door. He was making sure our electricity was out too. He wondered if he forgot to pay his electricity bill. Believe it or not, I was wondering if Ray had maybe forgotten to pay ours. :)
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When our neighbor knocked, our dogs went crazy! They were barking and whining. That woke Zander and scared Grayson. We had a baby boy that was crying because he was startled out of sleep and did not hear a sound. You just don't realize how many noises are in your house all the time. There's a refrigerator, a heating or cooling unit, a fan on your computer, etc. But without electricity, there's no sound. It's kinda eery.
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I had a hard time calming Zander. I know he could hear, see, and feel the difference in our house. And poor G was freaked out too. He stopped eating supper (and wouldn't eat any more until the electricity came back on). He wouldn't let Ray out of his sight either. Ray walked out of the room a few times in search of candles. Gray kept turning around with a worried look on his face calling "BaBa! BaBa!" Poor babies.
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Once we got some candles lit and turned our camping lantern on, we all sat in the same room. I wonder how many times Ray and I said, "This sucks, man". Did we actually say the word "sucks" in front of Grayson? You'd think we would've but we must not have because if we had, we would be hearing G say it all the time. ;)
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I couldn't help but think about how bad it does suck without electricity when it means you just might be burning up (without a/c) or freezing (without heat) all night long. But if the weather can be kept somewhere near what I'd call comfortable or even bearable, I never really minded the electricity being out in years past. Without electricity, there isn't a whole lot to do. A lot of times, you can't cook. You definitely can't watch tv or surf the net. Therefore, you just hang out. I'm not one for being without lights. It is kinda creepy unless you are going to bed and sleeping all night. But I distinctly remember Ray and I enjoying the time the lights were out. We'd just hang out together and snuggle up. It's funny how things change though! Even though G was scared, he wasn't into being quiet and loving up. He wanted to be with Ray, but he was still his usual loud self. :) And I'd have to ask Ray but I don't think Gray was giving of hugs or kisses (he never is). :) I had Zander who is more of a snuggler (at least right now) than G, but he didn't have lovin on his mind either. He was just into letting everyone know he didn't like the electricity being out. ;)
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When the boys are a little older, maybe we can all cuddle up on the couch or make a pallet on the floor to talk, laugh, and snuggle. That would be so fun! Our hour without electricity was not fun for sure, but it was memorable. In addition to all I've talked about, Ray and I couldn't help but laugh at G. He was doing this "roll call" thing. He started off by yelling, "BaBa! BaBa! BaBa!". Then he moved on to "MaMa! MaMa! MaMa!" Then he went on to "MiMi! MiMi! MiMi!" Next was "Day-zee! Day-zee! Day-zee!" He went on to call for "Hobb" (Hobbes), Mya, and even my mom's dog, Andre! It was so cute! It was like he wanted to make sure everyone was okay. :)
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Okay, one more thing I want to talk about is our newest baby boy's milestone. He's nearly one month old. Technically, we had him four weeks ago yesterday. To me, that means he's a month old. But Ray says he isn't a month old until January 22nd (this Thursday). Maybe he's right. Regardless, it's close enough...Happy 1 month to Zander Liam, our newest baby boy. :)
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I just can't believe we've had Zander here with us for a month! Wow! Time flies! Seems like we were just driving to the hospital and checking ourselves in. No, wait! It seems like just yesterday we got a positive pregnancy test result! The last month has been so great! Zander is the sweetest little man! In some ways, he reminds us of Grayson when he was that age. For me, it is often one particular moment - from a particular angle that I look his way and see a strong resemblance to Gray. But at other times, he looks like no one but Zander. He does seem to look a little more Chinese that Gray did/does, but that could change. I just can't get enough of Zander. Everything he does (even when he's laying there sleeping) makes you want to kiss him! And what sweet sugar that little man has! Oh my gosh! He's sweeter than a box of confectioner's sugar! Ray and I always talk about how amazing it is to see Z look around. He's interested in everything. He not only looks at things...he seems to really study them in great detail. And since the day he was born, he was smiling in his sleep. Now, he smiles when he's sleeping and when he's awake. He even lets out a coo here and there. :)
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Grayson and Zander are close in age. I love that. But needless to say, a 2 year old is in a completely different stage of life than a newborn. G is doing so much right now...Z is too. But what they are doing, what they are learning, how they communicate, what they enjoy, etc are completely different from each other. That can make each day challenging (to say the least), but it also quite amazing. Two little people with two different personalities are both complex in their own ways, but they are so simple...and the love Ray and I have for them is exactly the same thing: SIMPLE. You can't ever learn how to love a child...you can't imagine how much you'll love them. They just come into your life, and it happens. It's like magic. Poof! Magic. Love. Simple. Us. Forever. Always.
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