Watch Bennett Grow--Eight Months Old

Unofficial Stats:
Weight:  21.5 lbs.
Height (guess): 27.5 inches

November Gavinisms

On election day:

Me: "Who should I vote for today?"

Gavin: "Ice cream!"

After a particularly ornery moment:

Me: "You little turkey!"

Gavin: "I'm not a turkey. I don't have a beard!"

After reading a Carl story one night:

Gavin: "Dogs shouldn't go to parties. They'll eat up all the cake!"

When having trouble following directions:
Me: "Gavin, I asked you to clean up your toys.  You need to listen and obey."
Gavin: "Obey is a dangerous word."

Noticing Bennett chewing on a piece of paper:
Gavin, with his most serious tone: "Bennett Green...no, no."
Bennett: {giggling}
Gavin, to me: "Mommy, he's laughing at me."
Me: "Ya...that happens sometimes."

After learning about pilgrims and native americans (Indians) at school:
Me: "What songs did you sing at school at school today?"
Gavin, in his best singing voice: "All my idiot friends...hi ya, hi ya, hiiiiii."
Me: "Mmm...hmmm. And what else did you do today?"
Gavin: "I made a idiot vest and a idiot headband."

Gratitude

For this list, and so much more...I am incredibly thankful:

colorfully crisp fall mornings

hushed giggles at bedtime

tangible faith

not-so-tangible faith

love notes on a paper lunch bag

preschooler anecdotes

the right to vote

DVR

the warm, wet snuggle of a baby boy wrapped in a froggy towel

Christmas music

grown men walking around work with giant stuffed animals

an unprovoked, "I love you, Momma."

love wins. period.

baby giggles

friends who know exactly how I feel

the occasional spiritual ass-kicking

baby thighs

cheesy smiles

cards in the mail

coming home after a few days away

old family stories I've heard a thousand times

popsicles

palm trees in November

forever, no-matter-what love

my boys' baby blues

selflessness

Starbucks' Chai Lattes

my handsome hubbalicious

big family gatherings

Deep in the Heart of Texas

Last week, I got to introduce Bennett to his Great-Grandma Green.

My Grandma and Grandpa Green moved to Texas when I was in junior high, and they came back to Kansas City frequently, so I never visited them in their Texas home. When my Grandpa passed away almost three years ago, I remember wishing I would have visited earlier to see them together, in the place they called home for so many years. Silly things kept me from visiting--school and sports commitments when I was younger morphed into work and money excuses as I got older. Before I knew it, I'd started my own family and traveling seemed like more work than it was worth.

But when my dad mentioned he planned to make the trip this fall, I decided to ignore all those excuses and crash his visit...with baby in tow.

I am so glad I did.

It was a fantastic long weekend, full of old memories, popsicles and leisurely walks. It forced me to slow down for a few days and remember that the little things matter. I got to take a nap, and reminisce about eating caramel popcorn and learning to sew as a kid. I got to see how much it meant to my Grandma, and my Dad, that I'd given Bennett the middle name "Green." I got to feel my Grandpa's presence everywhere, and say goodbye to him in a way I hadn't yet done.

I also got a four-generation picture with my baby, who's named after this side of his family.

Four Generations of Greens

My only regret is that Gavin couldn't be there, too. I guess a four-generation picture with both of my boys will have to wait until the next visit. Until then, the individuals will do just fine.

Four generations picture when my Grandma last visited in the Summer of 2010, a few months after Gavin turned one.

Fall Fun--A (Mostly) Picture Post

How is it that fall is full of so many adorable photo ops? I mean, really. It's almost not fair to the rest of the year. And guess what, boys? I'll make you take every one of them. Every. Single. Year. You'll thank me later.

My two pumpkins in the pumpkins.

Hmmm...what is this orange thing?

Maybe it's because I'm just too comfortable being around boys ALL THE TIME now,
but I failed to notice how incredibly phallic this gourd was until I uploaded these pics.

This was the first year he could dig all by himself!

The annual Faulkner's face-in-the-pumpkins photo, now with one new member.

I'm not quite sure where this kid gets his goofy.

What's cuter than a baby surrounded by pumpkins?

Family photo at the Clifford fall farm party.

Bundled up tight with Momma.

One of the three pumpkins he chose that evening.

How cute are my guys?!

Pumpkin carving with Daddy at Grandma Jan's house.

Because every kid needs a photo in a pumpkin.
I still can't believe we found one big enough for him!

These boys--they are too cute.

Finished pumpkins!

My little fire chief and bulldog, ready for trick-or-treating.

To My Children on Election Day

One day, in the distant future, you will turn 18 and your Mother will insist that you register to vote. You maybe won't realize how important it is, or that your one vote can make a difference. You may not even care.

Go register anyway.

One day after that, it will be voting day and you might think it's easier to listen to a celebrity, or the media, or your friends, or even your parents instead of doing some research and deciding for yourself who or what to vote for.

Do the research anyway.

One day during a distant election season, you'll disagree with a friend, or co-worker, or family member about some candidate or issue and you might think you shouldn't stand up for your opinion and/or your right to have a differing opinion.

Stand up for yourself and your opinions anyway.

Another voting day, you might think the line is too long, or the issues don't matter that much to you, or you're just choosing the lesser of two evils, or that no one person can change anything in the government...and you might even consider not voting.

GO VOTE ANYWAY.

Because this is America. This is a democracy. This is a right we have that so many others in the world do not. Exercise that right.

Not because your Mother told you to...but because you can.

A Letter to My Boys

Gavin,
Kid, I think you will constantly perplex me and amaze me. I just need to prepare myself now for the ongoing years of this feeling. I keep noticing you can do things by yourself now that seemed so daunting to you even six months ago. They're little things, like swapping out the battery between your play drill and flashlight set, or counting backwards, or pronouncing all your letters correctly. They're so subtle that we barely notice, but I know it's those things that add up to the big kid you become more and more every day.

You have an innate kindness that emerges more every day, too, both at school and at home.  Your teachers this year have all made comments about how "sweet-natured," "happy" and "kind" you are to your friends, and I've lost count of the times you've put your brother before yourself at home. Every time you hand over your "lovie" when Bennett is crying, or volunteer to get him a toy when we're at the dinner table, it makes my heart swell with love and pride for you because I know how rare it is to be selfless at your age.

Now, as much as I love getting all mushy over you, my journalistic side needs to offer up the other side of the "sweet" coin as well. It also means you're sensitive. You get your feelings hurt easily when friends at school say they don't want to play with you, or when they push or throw rocks on the playground. The Momma Bear in me wants to smack them silly and tell their parents to stop raising little assholes, but the rational side of my brain knows it's something you're going to have to learn to deal with on your own. The world if full of assholes, buddy. Where your Momma gets hot-headed with them, I hope your sensitivity will help you see the good in them. Side-note: I cuss too much. Don't take after me there, either. :)

Lately, we've been watching a new show on PBS called Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood. It's a spin-off of Mister Rogers Neighborhood that I used to watch as a kid, and I'm loving the themes, songs and characters I remember so well showing up in your vocabulary. It's been helpful, too, because you're applying what you're learning to your life. After watching an episode about patience the other day, I've heard you saying "it's hard to wait" instead of melting down when immediate gratification isn't an option.

This month, you got to go on a field trip to the pumpkin patch and Daddy got to go with you. You were beyond excited about it, and talked about it for days afterward.

In other news, I don't think it's possible for you to be more adorable. Case and point:

I love you more, kiddo.
Mommy



Bennett,
Your first month at daycare started out a little rough, but it didn't take long for you to adapt and your teachers now comment often on how "happy" you are. That, in turn, makes me happy. Thanks for that. You still haven't quite gotten the hang of sleeping at daycare yet though, which means you're only getting two, sometimes three 30-minute naps a day, which also means you're going to bed super early most weeknights. I'm missing that little bit of extra time with you in the evening, and I'm hoping you'll find a better rhythm soon.

Half asleep during dinner.

This whole month has been a month of "firsts."  You tried oatmeal for the first time, and quickly moved on to carrots, cauliflower and avocado. So far, you've liked it all. I think you're just so happy to finally be having solid food that you're gobbling down whatever I feed you. We're just trying to be more cautious with what we give you and when we give it to you to try and avoid food allergies. Because your brother's allergic to peanuts, apparently you're much more likely to have a food allergy.

You also got your first tooth this month and I believe number two and three will swiftly follow. We're going through teething tablets like candy. Poor thing. I hate seeing you all fussy because your gums hurt.

You're also this close to crawling. You move all over a room backwards, and turn circles to go the other way, but you're not quite moving forward yet so I'm not counting it as official crawling. You also do this hilarious downward-facing-dog-yoga-like move to try and propel yourself forward. It won't be long until the "official" crawling happens, followed quickly by pulling up, which you're already doing with assistance. You can also easily move from a crawling position back into a sitting position. Basically, you're a motor skill wizard, kiddo.

I can't wait to see what you've got in store for us next month, little man.

I love you more,
Momma