Hellacious trip to Target

Please don't misunderstand the title of this post. The Target goods and services were wonderful. The hellacious part was the behavior of my children. After plenty of rest and a well balanced breakfast I took my kids to Target for a little shopping trip. While driving though the parking lot Elias sees the Golden Arches and asks for nuggets. Of course! Nuggets will prove to be an awesome distraction while I forage for toilet paper and other such household goods. We even find a giant cart at Target; the kind that has room for the newborn in his carseat and the toddler in his big boy seat. Things are looking great! I stop at the Starbucks in Target's lobby to order myself some energy in a cup. Elias asks for chocolate milk. Why not? I hardly ever let the boy have sweets.
Fast forward three minutes. I don't even make it past the dollar bin before Elias has abandoned his nuggets and starts flinging chocolate milk with the straw. Grrr. I grab a tunic to try on to cover my postpartum girth and head for the dressing room. This marks Elias' first escape attempt. He absolutely loses his poo! Whining, crying, bucking and wiggling out of the harness. I tap his hiney to let him know that I'm serious. Then he bolts. He's fast! He's 20 yards off before I catch up to him. Also note, I'm fast. 5.0 40 yard dash fast. Not bad for a 5'4 white girl. When we get back to the cart the kindly grandma who works in the clothing department stands with my cart and infant while I take Elias into the dressing room and give him an 'I mean it' spanking. He is subdued...for three more minutes. The next half an hour sees a bevy of tricks and treats in an attempt to quell the rebellion. We try a coloring book and crayons, Harold the helicopter from the diaper bag, a fruit squeeze from the food aisle, his monkey and a binkie (which I had to buy because his other binkie was in the car), jelly beans served in his baseball cap and finally Shaun the Sheep via Netflix in my iPhone. During this process Lincoln cries periodically only to be re-binked...about 30 times. 'He cant be hungry' I think to myself. I just fed him before we left the house. 'Keep shopping so you can go home' I repeat. 'Keep shopping'. I received several dirty looks during the adventure, no doubt from the childless. I don't blame them. Before I had kids I would have referred to this scene as birth control.
I learned a valuable lesson today. I can either deal with the exhausting situation known as errands with two children and the potential frustration that ensues as a result of this brave and gutsy move OR abandon the cart at the first sign of a toddler uprising and take out butts home. So if you're ever walking through Target and see an abandoned shopping cart filled with the would-be purchases of a harried housewife, know that you have either missed me by a few minutes or there is another mother who has wisely chosen to not do battle at Target, and has removed herself to another field or play where she has more leverage - home. Pray for her. She has left a trail of scattered goldfish in her wake but the unseen carnage is the more distressing. It is the tears she cries on the drive home. And during nap. And bedtime. Every mother of a strong willed toddler knows what I'm talking about so if you happen to see a mother doing battle in Target, don't give her dirty looks. Give her a smile, a real toothy grin and perhaps even a word of encouragement. It just might help her get through the day.

Pancakes!

Elias loves to cook! Probably because both of his parents do, but his favorite part is stirring. 'I dir' he says, demanding access to the spoon. It's a little messy but as his wise Nonni says, 'a messy room is a happy room'. (Where small children are concerned, not as a rule of thumb for lazy housekeepers). Mommy tones down her neat freak and allows this learning experience to happen. The 'dirring' becomes tasting which is followed by 'umm, good' or 'I like it!' Here are a few pic of E and Daddy cooking pancakes this weekend. Can you tell how happy carbs make him?

Coincidence? I think not.

Elias was born at 3:07 am on July 19, my birthday...our birthday :) We went to bed the night of the 18th and I awoke in the wee hours of the morning on the 19th to use the potty because my 'inside baby' likes to kick my bladder at night. As I came back to bed Elias started to fuss which he normally doesn't do (he's a great sleeper!) I peeked at the clock to see what time it was and don't you know, it was the exact time he was born two years earlier! I even took a screen shot of the date and time so I would remember :) I immediately went to his room to snuggle and rock him. Hot tears poured down my cheeks as I praised God for the precious gift of my son. I whispered 'thank you Jesus' and E said through his binky mouth, 'amen.' I melted as I usually do at least once a day :)

Elias is 2!

It's hard to believe our little man is 2 :) It seems like his first bit of life has flown by and yet we can't remember life without him. Here are some snaps of his bday party. As you may notice, the bulk of his gifts are focused around the theme of helping him release some of his eternal supply of energy.
His awesome aunties gave him the trampoline so he can expend some energy when it's too hot to go outside, which is 24/7 in Richmond these days. Video of E test driving his new toys coming soon.

Lunch with Daddy

Elias loves ice cream. He calls it 'keem'. After giant salads at Jason's Deli we imbibed in their frozen yogurt bar. Here is the super smiley evidence of a very happy boy :) 

I hear it!

Elias listening to himself chew. Did you do this a child? My sisters and I did :) 

First Post!

We have a new blog!  We are excited to be welcoming baby #2 in late September.  Stick around and watch us grow. :)

 Here are are few photos from our trip to the beach.