so many things to say

so prepare yourself. as usual.

i haven't been around. for exciting reasons. like my recent vacation/"business trip" to montana two weeks ago. like big h turning five.

we're going bullet points tonight. because i want to get this written out. more for posterity sake than anything else.

(and beware. i'm not proofing any of the layout. like if the pictures are in the middle or on the left. which will kill the OCD side of me.)

and because lately, i would really rather be snuggling with buz watching fun shows and looking through the THREE FEET of christmas catalogs at night than blogging. it seems to have taken a number on the low priority list.

(speaking of buz. right now. he's looking through old pictures. to have scanned. friends of his on facebook -- consider yourself warned.)

• milestone #1 since we last "spoke." big h and goo went to the dentist.

this is pretty big. big h is FIVE and has not been to the dentist yet. don't judge. but you gotta start somewhere, right? and so we did it. took them both for the first time at the same time. and i'm here to report. nothing. my kids are freaking rockstars. ROCK STARS! big h went first. x-rays. check. of course, he's a boy interested in anything electronic. so he asked the tech if he could look. then, sunglasses and a movie on the ceiling. rotating toothbrush with toothpaste. check. water "squirter" to rinse off teeth. check. "straw" to suck out his saliva? check. fluoride treatment with "mouth thing" and straw? check. and a goody bag filled to the brim with new crayola toothbrush, floss, toothpaste, and coupon for kid rinse. not to mention a prize. seriously. he thought it was like going to the store. he told dad, "i got to get my teeth all sparkly AND look what all i got while i was there!!!!!!" and then it was goo's turn. they let her sit in my lap while holding nemo with teeth. she brushed his teeth while they did hers. hoss. she didn't care about the goody bag. but the bouncy ball was well worth it. and the icing on the cake. the dentist? my age. not only that. but it turns out we were both freshman at baylor the same year living in the SAME DORM. hello. and now you're talking to me about my children's dental hygiene. weird. yet surprisingly cool. which brings us to...

• huge milestone #2. big h using a normal amount of toothpaste. he has been saying for several months now that when he turned five, he was going to start using more toothpaste and spit like me. flattering. and by more toothpaste, he meant enough to actually see. well, every night since we got back from the dentist, he has wanted me to floss his teeth. i know. AND. tonight. he put a GLOB of turquoise lightning mcqueen toothpaste on his toothbrush and let me brush. EVERYWHERE. perhaps you don't understand how HUGE this is. if not, pretend. this is HUGE. and he was delighted. he even said that swooshing and spitting was cool. i love this kid.
• ENORMOUS MILESTONE #3. i am writing this out for my little online scrapbook of sorts. so please, please, please save the judgment for someone else. my child. my FIVE-YEAR-OLD little boy. has slept the last two nights in UNDERWEAR. for those of you without children, feel free to skip this part. you'll be bored. i can assure you. our awesome pediatrician suggested we wait to potty train big h until he was at least three. after goo was born. he has always been a little late doing things. talking, etc. but he always makes up for it. like, when we did potty train, it took THREE days to potty train. three days. and that was it. except for the nighttime part. and we have worked for TWO YEARS on wetting. i'll admit it. it's been a real struggle. but we knew in time, it would happen. and to be honest, i was done changing so many sheets all the time. so he's been in a pullup for a LONG time. well. i think it's happened. and i don't really believe in the whole "jinx" thing so i'm writing it on the internet. friday afternoon, we met some friends after school to play. one of the kids asked if something had scared big h. and he responded, "nope. i'm pretty brave. i'm pive. i also sleep in underwear." (can you imagine if it was ok for me to talk about what underwear i sleep in?) anyway. that night, he had gone to change into his jammies, and buz and i were getting goo out of the bath. (yes, it takes both of us.) and he came in. instantly buz noticed, and big h said nonchalantly, "yeah, i'm just wearing underwear tonight." secretly, i was bummed because i knew we were going back into the season of changing sheets. he woke up saturday morning totally dry and again was so nonchalant about it. this morning, he woke up dry too. TWO DAYS. unbelievable. i am so impressed with my little man, i can't stand it.
• now, the only other thing he wanted to do once he turned "pive" was to get a "real" massage. guess i need to get that scheduled.
• he had a fun birthday party. know how to take a flattering picture of yourself? send yourself down a bounce house slide. works every time.


• big h got stickers for his birthday. he's been rewarding himself for good behavior. again, i love this kid.


• seems that i cannot, CANNOT, stop eating peanut m'n'm's. have i mentioned i don't even like chocolate?
• goo has become increasingly more sassy. and i use sassy as a cute word for OHMYHEAVENSWILLSHEEVEROBEY.
• last night, she insisted on wearing big h's raincoat to bed. it was one of those battles i didn't want to fight. so she worked it in her bright yellow, way too big rain coat. all night long. goo.
• and several nights ago, she was adamant about wearing big h's rain boots to bed. and so she did. what is up with her obsession with rain apparel? too big rain apparel.
see? cute, little goo asleep. with her cute, little jammies. pink blankie underneath her head.nice.

• reasons i love having a daughter.

• two weeks ago, we had some family pictures taken by my friend, courtney. actually, we took hers, and she and her husband returned the favor. so fun NOT to have to use a tripod.


• what else? RIGHT. i went to montana. i freaking love montana. i so wish i lived there. not only does my best friend live there, the weather is unbelievable. do you remember the reason i went? the long story? the senior i photographed? um, hello? he could not be any more handsome. and the personality and character to go with it. and his mom was telling me that because of the accident, he will most likely go into full-time ministry for Christ. i'm telling you. this was NO JOB. he has a younger sister and brother, who are such neat kids. wait...young people? how not to offend 17- and 15-year-olds? cool? awesome? i'm finding myself feeling old right now. and their parents? so much fun. and wow...great parents. i SO don't want big h and the goo to grow up and be teenagers. anyway, they were such a blast to hang out with.

meet chase, the senior. i know. how handsome?

and his sister. brynne. gorgeous.

and his brother, cole. so handsome.

and his WAY CUTE parents. so young and hip. please let me look like this when i have teenagers.

• as for kelly? well, she remains my best friend. we did a bunch of running errands, eating, drinking dr. pepper (oh how the two of us can polish off some DP), talking about patagonia, making dinner for each other, and loving on little lizzy, who has more clothes and blankies than she will know what to do with. we watched movies, wore sweaters and jeans and warm socks, cried at touching things on the internet, talked about purses we wanted. we just were. which is how it always is. which is why i love her so deeply.
• and buz? well, he's just pretty much ALL THAT. he did such an awesome job while i was gone. awesome. you know what? after having such a great time, i was actually ready to go home. after spending time with kelly's kids, it really made me miss my own.
• let's see. anything else new? i think that's about it.
• oh wait! i told my mom and mother-in-law that i would start taking pictures of goo after church. it's the only time she wears something without a stain or pink converse. not to mention, she started smelling the flowers outside church. on her own. her very own photo shoot once a week. here you go, mom and ms. wiz.

which means now i will sign off to have a DP, cuddle with buz, and start making a dent in those catalogs.