On Jaces First Birthday

Oh my Buddy,
 Happy Birthday!!

One year already. WOW!
I can barely remember the days before you were here.
Oh how we love you so.
You are the smileyest (it's totally a word spell check) little boy I know. In fact, 3 days ago, when you were a miserable little beast, our friends commented that it was the first time they had ever seen you not smiling. I love this about you.
In the last weeks you have changed so so so much. Besides the fact that you are a full time walker now, you have also started talking so much more!



Your list of words is growing every day...
Mama
Dada
Grampa/Papa
Please (peeessee)
Dora (wowa)
Puppy
BearBear
Whats this
That
Yummmm

You love snuggling. Anything really, me, dad, a pillow, stuffed animal (usually sea turtle or bearbear), the floor, a blanket, you aren't picky.
You are a tad dramatic when we take things away. Ok, not just a tad - full out, flat on the floor, kicking your legs, making a weird screaming noise... just so you know, we laugh and we certainly don't give in. Best to move on from this, we don't love it!
You love Missy. LOVE. If other people saw the way you two play, they would be concerned someone was getting hurt, but you two find it hilarious and fun and when you don't like it anymore, oh you let her know. You're good like that (totally sarcastic, you yell loud).



Today I was telling Maizey not to do something and she was standing in front of me with her hands clasped, begging me. You came beside her and stood the same way, staring at me. I had visions of the two of you, years from now, totally united and ganging up on me. Don't forget, I was once united with your uncles and we rarely ever won, so don't think you are going to get the best of me.
You are the best little sleeper around, and would looove for this continue, kthanks.
I don't know what it is, but seriously, you are like, always dirty. Your face, your hands, your clothes... what is it? Seriously, I'm asking. How are you always dirty??
You are fantastic at climbing the stairs, now you just need to learn to go down them. Besides that one time at someonewhowillnotbenamed's house, you have never fallen down them, but we can only shield you from them for so long and since we are a no-gate kind of house, you need to learn soon.
You love playing outside, just as much, if not more than Maizey. We spend a lot of time out there.
Today was your first day with cake and whoooo boy did you love it. Perfect picture taking cake eating - it was everywhere! Well done, friend.
So I don't know when it's going to stop, but you alwayyys have something in your mouth. As in, a toy. You kind of... carry them there?? Not sure what that is all about, but you freeeaaakkk out if we take what ever *it* is, out.
You are a really happy and content little boy. You love playing and walking and getting into things you aren't supposed to. You are a little bit mischievous and a little bit daredevil. I have a feeling there are many many many near heart attacks in my future.
I love your smile, your heart, your dimples, your personality, your little blonde head, your laugh, the way you look at me and love me SO much, your bottomless pit stomach, your hugs and open mouth kisses, your fat little legs, your energetic and happy personality and the fact that you are my little man, my buddski, my little mini-me.  



Happy 1st Birthday Buddy,
We love you more than you will ever know.
xoxo
Mama and Dada

A Breakfast Roll (Away)

My kids were up early this morning.
Like, 6:00.
I stretched it as long as I could, but by 7:00 they really needed to get up.
What did I see when we finally came upstairs, you ask?
Well, only the most beautiful morning in the history of fall mornings.
After a bit of humming and hawwing, I could hear the sunshiney goodness calling to me so I quickly made a pot of coffee for the road and threw the kids, p.j's and all, into the truck and headed out. We grabbed some bagels from Tim Hortons and pointed the tires towards the quickly rising sun.
The sun was warm, the wet slowly drying and a low fog that added to the beauty.
I was looking for somewhere to pull over where we could watch the sun peak over the mountains while we sat and ate our breakfast.
I turned off the highway and found the perfect spot. Just a bit of a shoulder on the half gravel half paved road, a bank down to the river bed where there was at least 30 feet of perfect playing rocks for the kids.


 Now isn't that just the most perfect place to eat breakfast??

It was still a bit before the sun would be cresting so we ventured further down the road in the mean time. We found the railroad tracks and waited for a few minutes to see if a train was going to emerge from the mist, making a perfect picture opportunity. One I knew Brian would die at. His wife. Taking pictures of trains. In front of people he knew. Oh, the embarrassment. It was not meant to be *this time* so we moved on.
We headed back to the breakfast spot and got out. Upon further inspection I saw that the bank was quite steep with not much to help me up or down. I tested it out and decided I would never get back up with Jace in my arms, so we would just sit by the truck and watch the river from afar.


awwwww
 
We unpacked our bagels and sat, my two jammied babies roadside, enjoying their blueberry bagels with strawberry cream cheese.
I danced around them, taking pictures and commenting oh, how cute are you two? and isn't this fun!! We should do this every day!! 
All was going so smooth that I decided to spend a minute uploading some cell phone pictures to Instagram.
But I, obviously, needed a coffee cup shot. Right, fellow instagramers??
So I set my cup on the hood of the truck and tried to get a good angle. I was so focused on getting the shot that even though I could hear  Maizey talking beside me, I wasn't actually listening.
Blah blah blah blah blah she kept saying. When I finally got the picture I wanted, I turned to her and said Sorry Miss, I didn't hear you, what are you saying? 

BUDDY IS ROLLING AWAY

is what she replied!!!!!!!!!
I turned and saw, to my horror, Jace clinging to the ground at the edge of the bank. I ran, phone still in hand to save him. In my mad dash, I got an arm in front of him so he wouldn't roll any further but the rest of me slid right down the bank. I had one arm saving him, the other saving my god damn cell phone. I didn't want to lose my picture and in my panic, I could not think what to do with it!!!!
Chokes under the pressure of saving her kid? Yep, thats me.
I put my phone in my pocket and with my now free hand and feet I clawed and kicked my way back up. I set Jace down on level ground and when he could finally breathe again, he started screaming.

Oh I secured him in his carseat immediately after that and we left.
 I thanked Maizey a bajillion times for saving him and she couldn't be more proud.
Me? I think I need to quit with the coffee cup pictures, don't I?  


The picture culprit.
 

School

School started for Maizey.
I can take a deep breath, finally get a good nights sleep and stop drinking so heavily. Just kidding. I slept awesome last night.





She was a champ.



She barely noticed I was leaving. She wandered the classroom looking for something to do. She said hi to her teachers and remembered their names. And when I came to pick her up, she came from the play yard area to wait at the door holding Sephoras hand. It might have been the cutest thing I have ever seen in my life. 



I made a big deal about it. I see that now. But it felt right at the time. It's just that she's so little and she's only three and we have spent like, almost every single day of her life together and while it's only a few hours, two days a week, it's different than our normal and I never accept change with open arms right away. I felt every day of these last three years bubble to the surface these last two days. She was so nonchalant about the whole thing and I secretly wanted her to cry when I was leaving and say she wasn't staying, but I was proud that she was perfectly confident and happy and well, fine. She, without saying a word, told me to get over it. Truthfully, it's five freaking hours a week. That's it. I did need to get over it. Luckily, my new, fellow preschool mom friend Andrea provided a great distraction.  We hiked. Fast and hard and we never stopped talking. It was exactly what I needed. When we got back to the school, it was the fastest two and a half hours ever. I am happy to admit though, she was super excited to see me.



She's going to do great. I love that about her.

Jace The Walker. And Growing Up.

So Jace is walking.



So exciting, right? It's so funny to see him get going... he wobbles a little, it take his whole body to get the motion going, he take a few solid steps before the momentum starts to push him a little too fast and his last steps are short and quick and out of control before he dives to his belly.
 The video was taken the first day he took steps, on his own, over and over. He had been taking two or three steps here and there for a few days, a week maybe, prior. We practiced the walking to its death. He was at the end of his rope with us taking things from him and then holding them out for him to come and get. He was tired of us walking away from him. After about the millionth time, he called it quits and wouldn't perform his trick for the rest of the day. He has since got over the hissy fit and now walks when ever he feels like it. He can make it about 10 -15 steps at a time and while he used to love the cheering, he thinks it's old news now and hardly looks at me when I do it.

Today, I packed up clothes that don't fit him anymore and put them in boxes destined for the attic. It was basically his entire wardrobe that had to go. Tomorrow, we start over in new (to us) clothes and make new memories in them.
I have a really hard time packing clothes away. I love the memories that go along with certain outfits and it kills me to think of how big they are getting when they no longer fit into clothes that at one time seemed so huge. The attic is getting fuller and fuller.
We are still so undecided on whether there will ever be another little McGiven baby. Actually. I am still undecided. Brian says we are good the way we are, but that he is open for discussion. I feel like once the decision is made, then I will know what to do with the ever growing pile of boxes up there. I know it's unreasonable to keep every single item of clothing both of them ever owned until they grow up and have their own kids to pass them on to. But still. Maybe the idea that there may never be another little baby wearing tiny little onesies and taking first steps again also kills me.

Add to this the fact that Maizey has her first day of preschool tomorrow and basically I am giant heap of tears and sentiment and nerves.

So Maizeys first day of preschool is tomorrow. Actually, it's not even the first real day, it's an hour long orientation that I will be there for and still. Still I am a wreck over it. I have to confess that I have thought, repeatedly, over the last few weeks of pulling her out this year. I didn't. I am going to miss her. She wavers between being excited and being indifferent. She knows she has teachers. She knows she gets to wear new shoes. She knows that it's going to be fun and that her friend Sephora will be there and that she is going to make more new friends. I just don't know if she really understands that we won't be there with her. She keeps saying that she's going to high school and that Jade is going to be her teacher. Hopefully she won't be too disappointed when Jades not there.

I need the growing up to stop.
These kids are killing me. Making me proud and killing me at the same time.

A Three Year Old Party

A Happy Birthday morning jam filled donut

 
And an excited little girl about it


A tiny little tea party with fancy girlies and dapper little dudes.



  

Pin the mustache on the man





A treasure hunt











Tiny little treats



A garden cake







And one very happy little girl. And a very happy little family.
Thanks to all our friends, near and far, that made Maizeys birthday so special.