Happy 4th Birthday, Andy!!!

Oh, my sweet Nug. How can you be 4 years old?? Weren't you JUST born?

This little blue gingham outfit is in his "bin." The bin of all the stuff I can't give away.  I love it.  

 

 I remember taking this picture like it was yesterday.  Praying Cal wouldn't decide to see what would happen if he just let go.  Thankfully he had a pretty good grip on his little brother.  He keeps hanging on too...thankfully.

 

 When I was starting this post, I told myself I would limit it to 10 pictures.  Yeah right.  I have wayyyy too many pictures of this kid to only pick 10.  So there's about 50 in this post.  Whatever. 

This boy is awesome.  He is frustrating and anxiety-filled, and difficult.  But he is also loving, and wonderful, and funny, and he makes me SO happy every day.  

Andy has more personality in his pinky than most have in their whole body.  He's got a great sense of humor and is always cracking us up.  His music teacher said to me last week: "boy, that kid has some personality on him, doesn't he?!" Apparently he was putting on a show in music class.

Andy adores his big brother-- and adores fighting with him! When we asked Andy what he wanted to do for his birthday dinner, he asked Cal which one he would rather do between two places.  They can fight like crazy, but they also love each other way more than I could ever pray that they would.  And it makes my heart happy.

There are times, when Andy is in mid-meltdown, that yelling just makes it worse.  The only thing to get him to calm down is to hug him.  He doesn't respond well to yelling, but you hug him close and he will calm down.  He is quick to apologize when he is wrong and can not stand anyone to be mad at him.  He always wants to hug it out.

He's going into pre-k next year.  At the start of his current year, I could NOT imagine he would be ready for pre-k after a year.  But he totally is.  He loves school and loves his teachers.  I am excited for him to go next year and learn even more! The below picture is one of my favorites... those blonde curls did me in.

He got a pretty bad haircut a while ago and the curls were gone.  And his blonde turned dirty blonde in the winter.  Maybe come summer, both will be back. 

I mean.... it's pretty hard not to fall in love with this smile...

Andy still isn't a great sleeper. He wakes up a few times a night.  Usually he can't find his pillow (which is usually about 6 inches from his face) and wants me to show him it.  It is annoying, yes.  I do love kissing those cheeks when I go in there though.  I love those sweet cheeks. 

Andy lives in "fast shorts" which is any kind of athletic shorts.  He prefers wearing shorts and a tee shirt-- usually sans underwear....! I do love him in a bowtie though...

Andy is sensitive. I think it's because he has a big heart.  He wants to please people and gets upset when people are not happy with him.  

As sweet as he is, he doesn't hesitate to beat the tar out of his brother.  Often.  It can get ugly. It usually is real ugly, to be honest.   I know it is totally brotherly "love" and typical.  We keep warning Cal to watch it (because Cal totally eggs it on), because one day, Andy will be bigger than him.  He is catching up quickly.  His shoe size is one size smaller than Cal's and his hands are already bigger than Cal's.  He's going to be a biggin, I believe. 

Andy has discovered a love of basketball.  He loves "shooting hoops" in the driveway and can do it for a long time before he tires of it.  

 While Andy can be very feisty, he is also SO SO sweet.  He can throw out a "your hair looks really bad like that..." but a few minutes later, he will walk into my room and randomly say, "mommy, I love you so much!" Bless his heart.

Nug is VERY excited to be 4.  He's been talking about it for a while now- hahahaha

To my sweet Steven Andrew:
I love you with every ounce of my being.  You completed our family and you bring so much fun and spunk to life everyday.  We can not imagine life without your FUN self! I hope you continue showing concern for others and working hard to make them smile-- just like you do now.  I adore you and I adore your hugs, which you hand out freely and often.  I dread the day that you stop throwing your arms around my neck in a hug.  I also pray that you will never stop sporadically telling me you love me-- even if that means you have to tell me my hair looks bad too. I'll take it.  (it probably really does look bad). You do not like when I call you my little boy...but you are, buddy.  You will always be my little boy.  You are my sweet cuddle bug and you nestle right in to my side and don't move an inch.  Just so we can be close.  And you know what, buddy? I absolutely love it.  I can't bring myself to think of when you won't want to do that.  And I try to always snuggle with you when you ask...because what if that's the last time you want to snuggle?? I want to soak up every bit of your love. I can only hope this next year is filled with fun and adventure. I am looking forward to doing life with you.  You make me SO SO happy-- thank you for being you, Nug.  
love, momma

 He's FOUR!


 

Friday Favorites!

Some FAVORITES from the week!

 Okay, starting off with my FAVORITE instagram post from the week... My girl Andrea had me cracking up with this picture of her little man... the hashtags were hilarious. Loved this and love you, Ange! 

 My next FAVORITE of the week is this kid, who dropped up his KINDERGARTEN registration packet! (well, we dropped it off only to realize we forgot to bring proof of residency and my driver's license is not sufficient enough proof.... #really?! so we had to go back on another visit...). 

 He is going to love kindergarten, I am sure.  He was very apprehensive when we were in the school.  Much more nervous than I was expecting.  His bravery is definitely a FAVORITE this week!

Speaking of nerves.... swim team started this week! These three started out the week beyond ready to get in the water.  By Thursday's practice, only one was in the water...the other was no where to be found and the last was crying on the side, wanting to get in, but only if he could hold a kickboard while his mother stood next to him telling him to get his behind in the water #guesswhichoneisandy

Another FAVORITE this week was having "muffins with moms" with Cal's class on Monday! I had the best time with my buddy.  The kids made each mom a card and a flower pot and we planted flowers in the pot together.  LOVED it!

My sweet furry kids are another FAVORITE this week.  Hankers is the sweetest, most patient dog ever.  Bruce is not.  Bruce is WILD and hyper and exhausting.  Having a puppy is NOT easy! But this moment, on mother's day, when they both snuggled up with me and we all took a little snooze was definitely a FAVORITE of the week.  

They can be EXHAUSTING, but they are so sweet and I can't imagine life without these two love bugs.

I mentioned before a long distance book club with my sweet friends from Aruba... we had our first "discussion" this week!!! We did a 3 way call and talked for over an hour! I took this picture randomly during the phone call, but I took another at the end and we went well over an hour.  

We talked about Saving Grace and Girl on the Train.  I reallllly liked both books and I loved talking about them with these great friends! They are two of my FAVORITES and having his book club is an excuse to actually talk on the phone and catch up too! It bonds us, even though we all live in different states.

The next book we are reading is The Dinner.  I am excited about the book and even more excited about chatting with these too again! If you have any book suggestions, leave them for me! We are keeping a running list of books to read.

So, the school year is almost over, and I have to say, my sweet little mouse class has become one of my FAVORITES.  I love this class! On Thursday, we had camping day.  We set up a tent and the kids made little lanterns and we "camped" out.  After a story, they all laid down and pretended to sleep.  They have become a FAVORITE part of my week and I can't believe I only have ONE more class with these sweet peas.  

 Cal brought this gift home this week:

 It was taken at Muffins with Mom and he made the frame.  I don't care of the picture of me (#couldilookanymorebloated?!) but when he handed it to me, he said "I really wanted to put 'I love my mom' on there, but my teacher said we didn't have enough letters. So maybe you can just pretend it says that too, okay?" And I never want to forget that.  So, this awful picture of me (it's precious of Cal), which has a magnet attached to the back, will live on my refrigerator.

A whooooole bunch of random FAVORITES for the week! Bring on the weekend!



 

#carriedaway: 17

Week 17:

 Day 113: two smiling boys

 Day 114: got to go on a field trip today with these cute little squirrles

 Day 115: happy birthday, Susan!

 Day 116: perfect day for cuddling up with a movie #airbud

Dy 117: these two cuties each swam 25 yards tonight. Bring on swim team! #gosharks

 Day 118: it's not easy being Andy

 Day 119: dog pile



 

Andy's 4th Birthday Party: PAW PATROL

Paw Patrol Paw Patrol....whenever you're in trouble...

Paw Patrol is big in our house with a certain little guy.  He looooves him some pups!

When it came time to decide what kind of party to have, we finally decided on Paw Patrol.  We debated many, MANY other themes, but Paw Patrol won out.

Usually I turn into a pinterest pinning super freak come birthday party time, but I didn't this time.  I let Party City do most of the work...and of course Pump it Up did the work too.  (I JUST realized I never got a good picture of the cake!!!! Whoops! Target made an adorable paw patrol cake....!)

Nug took a GREAT nap Saturday afternoon and woke up ready to party!!! He was SO excited for this party. He happen to pick a shirt that matched Poppy...

We had Cal's 5th birthday party at Pump it Up (looking back at this post makes me want to cry! They have changed SO much!), so we knew how great parties there are.  Andy was adamant about wanting his there too. 

We arrived in the parking lot and he posed for a picture...in the bright sun...

They post all the birthday parties they have going on on a big chalk board.  Andy found his name immediately.

I didn't take many pictures during the party.  It was chaos, but everyone was having fun so that's all that matters! Cal was happy to have sweet Chloe there.  Love his little headlock/hug he's got going on here.  

Almost all of the group! Those are some cute kiddos! Andy insisted on inviting his entire class and then we added in a few more friends.  It was a cute group of kids!

 Once we got moved to the party room, Andy was quick to hop up in the birthday chair-- I am telling you, this kid was HAPPY the whole time he was there!

He had some friends get in the chair too...

So, we don't know why, but Andy doesn't like the birthday song.  Like, at all.  Every birthday party we go to, we have to leave the room when they start singing it because he freaks the freak out.  We don't know why.  We seriously have no clue what causes this strong dislike...but there's no reasoning with him.  He has to walk out of the classroom each time one of his classmates has a birthday.  They didn't one time and he laid on the floor covering his ears and shaking profusely.  Real nice way to wish your friend a happy day!
Again, we don't get it.    But that's just Andy!

His teacher, whom he adores!, had a birthday and the kids all sang to her in class and Andy decided to stay put (he seriously loves this teacher). 

So he came home that day and told us that instead of the birthday song, he wanted everyone to sing Jingle Bells to him at his party.  Sure, kid.  Whatever floats your boat.  #longlivesanta

But then one day, we were driving down the road and as random as could be, he said, "fine, mommy. I will let everyone sing happy birthday to me at my party.  That's okay with me now..."

So, we weren't sure what to expect at the party.  Would he freak out? Would he run out of the room crying? Nooooo telling with that kid!  But, he did GREAT! He sat in the chair smiling the whole time and loved every minute of it.  GO FIGURE!

After everyone ate cake, the family loaded up the chair and took a few family pics-- just to show we survived another party!

Can NOT believe I am about to have a 4 and 5 year old!

We had a blast celebrating sweet Nug this weekend and we are excited to continue the party the next week!


 

Weekend Update: Mom's Day

Another weekend has FLOWN by! We had an action packed weekend, once again.  This weekend was EXTRA special though, because we celebrated Nug's 4th birthday! (cue the tears, please...)

Eddie's dad came to town to keep the kids when we went to Miami last weekend, so he stayed through the week and Eddie's mom came in on Wednesday so we had the party Saturday afternoon.  I am doing a separate post on the party though... gotta make shorter posts! ha!

Here is a look at our weekend!

Friday, after the boys went to school, Patty and I picked them up and headed home to let Bruce out.  We played for a while and then went to the mall to get the boys some new shoes! Andy has been asking for "tie" shoes for a loooong time now.  It's all he wanted for his birthday.  He quickly picked out the brightest shoes in the store...

Cal picked out some blue ones, but they did not have them in his size, so he decided to get matching shoes... the Williamson boys will be easy to spot...!
While at the mall, Cal mad a comment about not feeling well and his tummy not feeling right.  I figured he was tired, but it was obvious he was not at 100%.  

We headed home and the boys had a killer dance party in the driveway.  Andy was BESIDE himself over the new shoes.... 

 They were going ALL out dancing.  I can't imagine what neighbors thought as they drove by-- and I don't really care, ha! These kids were having THE best time!

 Please take note of Andy in the background.... see his hands?

 Yes.  He is rocking.it.out. 

 The shoes pretty much glow. 

Cal didn't eat much of his dinner, which was odd because it was his favorite.  We put the boys to bed and then got to work decorating the kitchen for the big party day the next morning!

After we finished decorating it all, Cal cried out for me.  I went into his room to find he had puked EVERYWHERE.  It was the biggest mess I have ever seen.  Thank goodness my mother in law was here! She took care of the entire mess so that I could deal with Cal.  She washed sheets and scrubbed the floor...everything.  I cleaned Cal and helped him throw up again... bless his heart. He slept on our floor that night in case it happened again.  It didn't, thankfully!

Cal woke up Saturday morning in the BEST mood! He came downstairs and announced that he felt SO good! haha! I guess something just didn't sit right on his stomach-- he was good as new come Saturday morning!

Andy was beyond excited to come down and see the decorations.    

We headed out the door early for a 9am soccer game.  These three little blondies had a blast playing together.  

 After the game, I got some snuggles with my two favorite Ducks...

We ran a few errands, including going by a house we think will be Tricia and Tommy's new house....!!! And headed home for showers and naps... (ahhhh, thank goodness he napped!_

When I woke him up for the party, he was SO EXCITED!!!! He quickly got dressed and I kid you not, did not stop smiling the rest of the day....

 We spent Saturday night at the party, and that post will come tomorrow (maybe??).

Sunday morning was Mother's Day! We had a low key morning at the house.  Tricia and Tommy and Carrie went to Panera and brought breakfast over for us.  We hung out and I did some cleaning and then we headed over to my parents house for a mother's day brunch-- it was fabulous!

Mom and I had on all kinds of layers because the weather could not make up its mind.  We look goofy in this picture, but I am so glad I have it.  My mom is the most selfless, caring, wonderful person I know.  I am so thankful to have her help me become a better mom...I am lucky to get to learn from the best!

 I got a picture of Eddie's mom, Patty, and her three kids. I adore every one in this picture.  Eddie's sisters are truly two of my closest friends and I love Patty too.  We all get along so well---which I know is rare! Soooo glad they were here this weekend to celebrate Andy and to celebrate mother's day!

And then there's these two...

Being a mom is hard.  And tiring.  And so trying.  But it is also SO amazing and so fun and so exciting and so wonderful! I can't believe God gave me these two little boys to love.  I do not ever want to take that for granted.  I adore being their mom and I am honored to get that title!

Hope everyone had a wonderful weekend and a fabulous mother's day!