Stay Classy

Better late than never!

Yeah, so... Christmas. It wasn't THAT long ago, right? And it's definitely not embarrassing that it's taken me over two months to actually upload the photos I took.

Actually, I waffled on whether to even post these at all, given how old they are now. But I figure it's a 'better late than never' situation, and the grandparents will love them even in March!

With that, I give you... Christmas 2011.

I still can't believe Zack let Santa hold him. He didn't smile, but he didn't cry either, which I consider a victory. Santa told me it was because he's the real Santa, and kids can tell. I'm pretty sure it had way more to do with Zack's fascination with the candy cane Santa gave him.

Whatever... Zack didn't scream.

Out of focus, but too much happy not to share. Apparently, Christmas Eve is exciting.

Brady's request for Santa was very specific: a pirate hat, pirate sword, and pirate telescope. Santa threw in a pirate shirt for good measure (because if you bought the whole set, it qualified for free shipping).

My dad's fiance got the boys a fort-building kit, which has become a near-daily activity.

So there you have it... Christmas did come for the Durbans this year (even if it took me until March 4th to share it)! (Belated) Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night!

It turns out...

...that we've got just about enough testosterone in this family. Even if they are pretty cute.

Baby 3D is a GIRL!!! Somehow I already knew it, but was afraid to believe it.

Paul sums it up nicely-- "This just got expensive, didn't it?" He's a wise man. After 2 boys, I believe it is my right-- nay, my DUTY!-- to indulge in some sparkly/frilly/ruffly stuff. And given that she'll be the first granddaughter on either side of the family in over 20 years, I doubt I'll be the only one who feels that way.

But let's be honest. A girl with two older brothers will be able to make fart jokes with the best of 'em. I already love her so much.

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The Fox and the Ham

These guys...

love nothing more in the world than the after-dinner movie and popcorn. Tonight we watched 'The Fox and the Hound'... except for that Brady couldn't remember the word 'hound', and kept saying 'ham'. 'The Fox and the Ham' would have been a much shorter movie.

All Zack was concerned with was 'More pah-corn, peeeease!'

They make me laugh.

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You noticed

It's no secret that I haven't been exactly diligent about blogging as of late, and I didn't think anyone (well, anyone I'm not related to) was reading anymore. I honestly wasn't trying to be coy by slipping "pregnant belly" into the middle of a paragraph on snowball fights-- I just assumed that anyone who would read it would already know!

It turns out that I was wrong, and there are still a few of you out there in internet-land who are hanging around (or a least haven't cleared me out of your Google readers)! So... hi all!

And yes, we are expecting baby #3 (who is going by 3D at the moment... or else Pedro, but that's an entirely different story) in July! We don't know yet if it's a boy or a girl (Brady will only refer to the baby as a 'she', Paul is convinced that it's a boy because "we make boys-- it's what we do"), but we are planning to find out (hopefully next week!). Brady and Zack don't know it yet, but this also means that they will soon be venturing into the wonderful world of sharing a room. So... yeah. We'll see how that goes over. It's all in he marketing, right?

To be honest, we hadn't come to a 100% certain conclusion on whether we would have a third child. I've always felt like there would be 3, and Paul said he was happy either way, but there are always all the practical considerations-- can we afford it? Do we have the space? Can we handle 3 under 5? So when the decision was essentially made for us, it was actually a huge relief. A bit of a surprise, perhaps, but a very happy one. It feels right, and I'm outrageously grateful. 

Am I nervous? You better believe it. But if 2 kids is good, then 3 must be better, right (please don't ell me if you disagree)? And if life is already crazy (and I can assure you it is), why not just keep the ball rolling?

We did pretty well in the baby lottery the first 2 times, so now we're going for the baby trifecta. 

It took long enough...

...but after 7 years of living in Nebraska, we finally, REALLY played in the snow.

And it took a guy from sunny Southern California to get us to do it.

We take for granted what is there all the time-- and for us this time is year, that tends to be snow.

So it took Crazy Uncle Andy (my brother) visiting from Santa Barbara, where there is NEVER snow, to get us all excited about bundling up and playing outside. It's the same as how nobody in LA actually sees the Hollywood walk of fame unless their relatives are visiting from Oklahoma.

Anyway, we played with our new sled, made snow angels, and Andy and Brady built a snowman. I had my first real snowball fight (Andy is guilty of a few cheap shots, namely when I would turn around to make sure my kids weren't running into the street... and I also had to remind him not to hit me in my pregnant belly), and it was great. Zack kept managing to get snow in his gloves, so he and I didn't last all that long outside. Andy and Brady, on the other hand, were in it for the long haul.

Am I in a big hurry to spend 20 minutes bundling the kids so we can be cold anyway again? Not especially, and certainly not without an eager assistant like Andy (Brady is another story, and I'm sure he'll be dragging me outside soon). But at least we can say we've done it, and it was fun. It was a long time coming, but I feel like we just became a tiny bit more Nebraskan.

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Just hey.

I'm just checking in with a quick hello.

Zack says, "Hey girl, what's up. Wanna check out my closet?"

I have lots of updating to do, mostly Christmas-related. For now, however, I am rocking in a dark room with an almost 20-month-old who has decided that he would like to take the rest of his nap on top of me. I know I have precious little time left when he'll want to do this before he's all big and independent, so I'm letting him. It's not a half bad way to spend a piece of a Tuesday afternoon.

In other news:
-Brady now starts a good 70% of all him sentences with "Well, ya know..." I have no idea where it came from, but it's pretty funny.
-Zack has started really stringing together two and three word phrases in ways that are clearly intentional. My favorite so far-- "Mama, snack? Snack please? Mama, GET UP!" I'm sure that will lose its charm pretty quickly.
-Brady has discovered that turning on the charm can help him get his way. Lately, he'll put on his sweetest smile, use his best soft, non-demanding tone, and say "Oh Mommy! I was just thinking of a wonderful idea! How about you... (let me do playdoh, take me to the park, read me 17 books)?" He's fairly persuasive.
-My whole life got significantly better when Paul agreed to start coming upstairs at 5 instead of 6 so that he can play with the boys while I cook dinner. It turns out that having Zack literally scream and tantrum and throw himself at my feet for the entire hour was really getting me down. For whatever reason, he is a monster when I cook, and poor Paul was arriving to dinner every night to discover me on the edge of a nervous breakdown. This new arrangement has changed everything, and I swear I feel the ripple effects all day long. At exactly the same time, Brady decided to start getting up an hour or so earlier every morning so that Paul can make up the work time. He's so helpful.

2012 is going to be good. I can feel it.

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Tis the Season

Here's a link to my December article in L Magazine. Now all I need to do is follow my own advice...

Better late than never!

Dear Grandma Carol and Grandpa Bill,

It's taken me well over a month, but a promise is a promise. I'm sometimes slow, but I always deliver eventually! After much ado... here are the rest of the pictures from your wonderful, wonderful visit to Lincoln. And now we get to come see YOU in just a few weeks! Are we lucky or what?!?

Love,

Us

 

Hey, remember that time when Brady made you sniff the mystery jars at the Dinosaur Museum?

And then you built a really tall tower?

Well, he loved that.

OH! But the boys also loved Boo at the Zoo...

...especially because they got to ride the train.

We REALLY loved the day you spent with us at the pumpkin patch...

And, frankly, we still can't believe they got Bill up on stage with Paul's improv troupe. And not only did he get up there, but he was GOOD! We don't have the greatest pictures... but we've got the video evidence. So watch yourself, Bill... because that's some prime blackmail material. :)

Thanks for helping us carve pumpkins... after we cleaned them (and, apparently, you), of course.

But mostly, thank you for being such wonderful grandparents. We have some seriously lucky little boys who could not love you any more.

We love you! See you soon!

Grandma & Grandpa

A week with my dad... followed closely by a week with Paul's parents... Brady and Zack have been in grandparent heaven!

One of the best parts about grandparents? Unlike Mom & Dad, they never tire of listening to you talk... and talk... and talk... 

I think Brady talked to Grandpa Bill for at least 22 out of each of the 24 hours they were here. And when they weren't talking, they were making paper airplanes.

Grandpa's a good pilot.

Zack, meanwhile, was infatuated with Grandma Carol's jewlery. By the time she left, he could correctly point to and say "ring" and "watch". Maybe he'll be a pick pocket.

All that learning is tiring, and after some initial shyness, usually led to snuggles. Every boy needs a grandma's lap to rest on.

I can't tell you how grateful I am that the boys have grandparents who love them so much. The absolutely light up when they're together, and it's pretty amazing to see. Plus, everything tastes better when Grandma makes it. 

We love you, Grandma Carol & Grandpa Bill!

Halloween...finally

So, I'm perhaps a little behind once again. It's so far past Halloween that all the good candy has already been picked through, and we're at the point where I rumage through the bag over and over, tyring to convince myself that I really do like Smarties and hoping that an overlooked Twix will magically appear. 

But, hey! Look! Halloween adorableness!

It's a bird... it's a plane.... it's... SUPER BRADY! (He's super strong!)

And his sidekick... Zachary, the tiny tiger!

(Click here for a look back at our other favorite tiny tiger.)

Our neighborhood was, as always, awesome for trick or treating. Lots of candy, lots of kids, lots of fun. Zack started out walking, but it didn't last long. The first time somebody had the audacity to answer their door after we knocked on it, he insisted on being picked up... and he didn't let me put him down for most of the evening. My left bicep nearly exploded. 

 

He seemed to generally enjoy himself, save for when anyone spoke to him. Without fail, he'd put his head on my shoulder and tell them "Mama" in a complete dead-pan. You have to cut him a little slack, though-- the whole concept of being spoken to by dozens of strangers dressed in all kinds of strange costumes must be a little confusing when you're 18 months old. 

Brady, on the other hand, was all kinds of excited about the whole trick or treat experience. The costumes were exciting. The jack-o-lanterns were exciting. Every single piece of candy was exciting. See? (That's not actually candy, by the way. One of our neighbors gave out microwave popcorn, which is one of Brady's favorite things in the universe. The kid loves him some popcorn.)

We trick or treated for easily an hour and a half, well past dark. Thankfully, at some point Paul took over Zack-carrying duties and saved my arm from falling off. 

Halloween is one of the many things that I find myself falling in love with all over again now that I get to share it with my kids. I remember how crazy exciting trick or treating was for me, and it makes me so happy to try and make it equally exciting for them. And the best part about Halloween? The next day marks the start of Christmas! (I know, I know-- not really. But count me among the people who secretly has no problem with 2 months of Christmas.)