Hello, 2013. When did you get here?

It's already three weeks into the new year and if these past few weeks is any indication of how quickly the year will go by, we are in trouble!  Better hold on tight and enjoy the ride.

Life at Casa McCormick is stable - for now, which is not a bad thing.  Nothing too chaotic is going on.  We battled the cough/cold virus and triumphed.  We had flu shots so hopefully whatever comes our way won't be too powerful, and we are surviving the 30 degree frosty mornings.  Brr, we are ready for some warmer weather.  I know, I know, we Californians are wimps. 

The boys have been (as usual) adorable.  Of course they are perfect and never raise my blood pressure - at least that what this blog will document. :-) 

Brock is really enjoying preschool.  In spite of his morning rants about not wanting to go, once we arrive, he is excited and doesn't look back as I leave.  He goes three days a week but they are full days.  I think he's starting to grasp (slightly) the concept of time. The other day he mentioned that I don't come back for him for a long time and that makes him sad.  Then again, he picks up the darnedest phrases at school so maybe this is just something he is now saying but doesn't understand what it means.  Hmmm, not sure.  He's always so happy to see me when I return - it's the highlight of my day chatting with him about his day at school.  He's pretty good at giving me a play-by-play of his day. It helps that I have a copy of the curriculum and menu to keep the conversation going. 

Brock continues to LOVE reading.  He will sit through 7-10 books per night without getting anxious or bored.  And he remembers everything. I love when he corrects me, "no Mommy the book says Father, not Daddy".  Marching bands, music, cars/trucks, and dinosaurs are all the rage these days.  Construction sites - whoa, BIG deal.  Serious stuff!  I now know the difference between an Excavator, Cement and Dump truck. 

Cade is a joy.  I am thoroughly taking advantage of the YMCA's Child Watch program.  You can leave your child in their center for 2 hours while using the facilities.  I've got a routine that allows me to workout four times during the week, then on the weekends Brian and I take shifts going to the gym.  Too bad I'm still 7 lbs from my pre-baby weight...well, I will keep working out and hopefully I'll get back to my old self soon. 

Around the time of his 4-month check up our physician said if he seemed interested in food to start him on solids.  We didn't start Brock on solids until 6 months so this seemed foreign to us.  Cade, unlike Brock, has been watching our every move and smacking (yes, smacking!) his lips when we eat.  So, we started him on solids the other day.  Wow, does he like it.  Too bad the cereal is giving him major gas and constipation... Brian said it's like living with a college student.  Enough said.  It's so easy to forgive a child who just pooped all over you when he's this cute.

I'm not gonna lie, there are days I wish I had a girl in the house to balance out the testosterone.  A girl to shop with or get a mani/pedi with. A girl to plan her wedding with... But when I look at my three boys, I forget those thoughts and just relish in the love and joy my family provides me.  I have two amazing little boys who with the right amount of love and discipline, I can only hope turn into honest, kind and loving men, like their father. Brian is an amazing husband, father and role model for my boys.  Lucky doesn't begin to describe my life! 

Welcome, 2013.  Let's make this a year to remember!

Surviving the holidaze

I firmly believe that the holiday season starts at Halloween and ends at Super Bowl.  So, while the holidays aren't officially over, the majority of them have passed and we are in the home stretch.  The rest is just a lot of screaming at watching TV and eating junk food.  I can handle that.

Christmas was exceptionally fun this year because no one was sick (a first in years!) and Brock is sort of understanding the concept.  We didn't push the whole " I believe in Santa" thing on him so we think all he understands is that Santa is a really nice guy and we take pictures with him.  Oh, and he drives a sleigh with reindeer and he's green (he likes us to read the Grinch Who Stole Christmas).  Yep, he's still a little fuzzy on the details.

If you were to ask Brock, I'm pretty confident he would say what he enjoyed most about Christmas was seeing his cousin, Logan and being at Grandma and Grandpa's (they have THREE flights of stairs!).  He had all of their undivided attention and he loved every minute of it.  Brock talked about playing with Logan for days before and after our visit.  And the other night he was talking in his sleep about Grandma and Grandpa.  Plus, at Grandma and Grandpa's house, there were special treats like See's candy and Grandma's special carrot bread.  I think he had more fun than he could have ever imagined.  Didn't hurt that he raked in some serious toys - a keyboard, a guitar, a fire truck, cool books...and more!

The three Amigos

Grandma is grandkid heaven!

 Christmas had no significance to Cade except that a whole bunch of people wanted to hold him and flash cameras in his face.  I'm pretty sure if he could talk, he'd have some unsavory choice words for us.  But he was gracious and allowed us to take (literally) hundreds of pictures.  He did have fun playing with his new toys.  His smiles and giggles proved it. Have I mentioned how adorable this kid is?

Me and my boys

Grandpa getting a little Cade time - don't they look alike?

Cade loves his Grandma

That's a mighty proud Uncle!

Cade sporting a hand knit Stanford cap

Logan and his new bike!

We had so much fun at Grandma and Grandpa's house it was difficult to pack up and head home.  Brock kept asking why we had to leave.  He LOVES his grandparents so much (we do too!)!

Thank you, Mom and Dad for feeding, sheltering, spoiling and loving us!  Merry Christmas!

Here comes Santa Claus

Our boys were fortunate enough to see Santa Claus not once, but TWICE this year. 

The first photo attempt Brock had just finished up swim class and his eyes were burning red.  Brian was not too keen on the way the pictures turned out.  And Cade looked frightened.  I can't blame him.  The photographer's assistant used this hideous sounding clacking things to get the kids attention.  I'm not a pro in the Santa picture taking department, but I was Santa's Helper in the 9th grade and I will tell you this - I would have never chosen such a toy to encourage children to smile.  Clack Clack Clack Clack Clack Clack - oh the noise!  It still haunts me.  But I digress...

Photo One

So, two days later, after selecting two more equally adorable outfits, I braved the mall again. This time, Brock did not have swim class in the morning so his eyes weren't blazing red.  Cade, however, needed to be woken up from a pretty solid nap.  He was less than pleased with me.  So again, he looks frightened (could be from the clacking toy again). 

Much to my surprise, Santa did not wear his hat.  Of course in the frenzy of fixing hair, adjusting sweaters, and focusing my camera lens, I didn't take notice.  That was until we were finished and reviewing the series of pictures you are forced get to buy. When I inquired about his hat, the charming teenager working the cash register simply said he gets too hot in his hat so you need to request that he wear it.  What the...????

Photo Two (Santa looking cheesy sans his hat)

Yo, Santa, if you can't hack the job, then don't accept the job offer.  Just sayin'...
Merry Christmas from the McCormicks!

Four Months

How did four months pass?  Geez, this kid is growing up way too fast. 

Overall, Cade is doing fantastic.  He is happy, healthy and an absolute flirt.  I am in big trouble in a few years, my boys are chick magnets!  Just this week, he started sleeping about 10 hour stretches in the night.  It might be a short-lived phase but for now, I will enjoy my 6-7 hours of REM. 

Coming in at 25.25 inches tall (62%) and 15 lbs., 4 oz. (45%), Cade is quite a love.  But what's not to love? 

I'll tell you what's not to love.  Vaccination shots.  Poor Cade had three shots in his thighs and one oral vaccination.  He didn't enjoy this - at all.  Poor thing wailed and wailed.  Fortunately he won't remember these shots and we don't have to return for two more months!

Our silly boys

Brock and Cade are both in stages where they are beyond adorable.  These boys are full of life and definitely keeping us on our toes.  A pure joy, indeed!

Brock is all about using his imagination.  "Hurry, run, the big bad wolf is coming!".  Or, during story time, which is a part of our bedtime routine, he drags out all of his stuffed animals and we have to incorporate them into some kind of adventure.  Naturally, Brock is the main character and these guys are his sidekicks.  Brian has become quite the improv story teller.  I'm still working on my character details.  I prefer to be the closer, and in our home, that is the person who sing songs to him (terribly off key) after stories.  That way I get an extra good night kiss before lights out.  :-)

 
Cade is a big fan of blowing bubbles and babbling on and on, as if he has something incredibly important to say.  Hmm, maybe he does and we just don't know it - yet.  Whatever he might be saying, I can't stop gazing into his big blue eyes.  This momma is madly in love. 

Three Months

Okay, we are almost two weeks late in posting, but Cade turned three months on November 17th.  Wow, time is really zipping by.  It's been hard to watch Brock be incredibly disappointed in having a brother (he hits, yells, tells him to go away...the list goes on and on) but we are confident in time they will be the best of friends.

Back to Cade, he is really cute right now.  Giggles, coo's, squeaks and he lights up when you greet him.  He loves to watch his big brother (maybe out of fear?), his eyes follow his every move.  Unfortunately, Cade also caught his first of many colds.  With Brock in preschool, we're preparing for at least one year of runny noses.  The only upside to Cade being sick was that we took him to the doctor to make sure he didn't have an ear infection and he was weighed.  He's growing fast - 14 lbs., 6 oz. and 23 inches.  Will he be taller than Brock?  Time will tell.  For now, we focus on his adorable smile.

Oh, Christmas Tree

Let me start by saying this might be the first time in McCormick history that we have actually had our decorations and tree up before December 15th.  It's a Christmas miracle!  Actually, it's because we will be out of town on Christmas so we figured if we're going to do this, let's do it now because it's all coming down by the 23rd of December...

Every Christmas we buy a small 1-2 foot sad looking, no one will take me home "Charlie Brown" type tree that is small enough to sit on a table. Some years the ornaments looked bigger than the actual tree.  One year, we felt compelled to buy something because it was Christmas after all (translation: holiday peer pressure)  It's not that we're Grinchy folk, we're just not into all the extra "stuff" we need in our tiny house.  We also don't buy a ton of gifts for everyone so we don't feel compelled to get into the "holiday spirit" by spending Black Friday standing in line at department stores (now that's something to be thankful for!).  Aren't the holidays supposed to be about family, food and reflecting on the joys in your life? Not how many toys or trinkets you rake in?  Okay, I'll step off the soap box and continue with my original post...

This year we've decided to mix it up and get a real tree!   However, we have Brock, our mass of destruction of a toddler, and that can create a litany of concerns.  There was NO WAY we would be able to have a decorated tree in our house because he would destroy it - in seconds.  Not to mention we are challenged with space in our tiny abode.  So we found a wonderful compromise.  A tree outside our living room window that sits on our front porch.  That way we could enjoy the beauty of a 6-foot tree without cramming it into our home.  And, it's safe from destructive inquisitive toddler hands.

So off we went to buy our big tree.  Brock is still too young to fully understand the concept of Christmas, Santa, etc.  And he definitely didn't understand why we needed to buy a tree.  And somehow he thought that bringing a tree home meant he would meet Santa.  Huh?  How does all of that connect?

Anywhooo....

After setting up the tree and putting lights on it, Brock was pretty excited.  Cade slept through most of the events of the day (hence no photos of the little guy).   I'm pretty sure Cade could care less about the tree so this year it's "All About Brock" (wait, isn't that every year?).  Eh, whatever...

Merriest of Merry Christmases to you all.