Life Before Baby #5

As a mom, it seems like I measure time in life before baby arrived, and life after. I have been a mom for 14 1/2 years, and I truly can't remember what life was like BEFORE I had kids! Now here I am, trying to play catch up for the last year that flew by while I was pregnant or adjusting to life with five kids!

I was so sick during my pregnancy with Coen, just like I was with every other pregnancy. Every single day I battled morning sickness until the day I delivered him. When you are that sick, it's truly a struggle to make it through the day, let alone blog. BUT...I want to catch up on some of the life posts that slipped by while I was sick since this is partially a journal of our lives.

I did so well documenting weekly life for the first 6 weeks of 2019, and I'm determined to finish it. I'm definitely a visual storyteller (or so Facebook tells me), so I might not remember the exact details of the last two weeks before Coen was born, but with the help of all the pictures I took and my beloved Cozi calendar, I just might be able to do a somewhat decent job. All I know is that I was miserably pregnant for those last two weeks of my pregnancy. I was still sick, I was contracting all the time, and I knew my baby was huge. (Spoiler alert: I was right.) The next document life post I will be sharing is Coen's CRAZY birth story, so stay tuned!

Happy 12th Birthday, Lexie!

On Friday, February 22nd, Lexie celebrated her 12th Birthday! I started this blog when Lexie was just 18 months old. Back then it was just Lexie Loo & Dylan Too! The blog has grown quite a bit since then, and a few of my regular readers have been around since the very beginning. The years went by so quickly, and now we're just one short year away from having another teenager! 

Lexie had a great birthday this year, and was very relieved that I didn't go into labor on her big day! We allow our kids to have one "cheat day" to miss school each year, and Lexie chose to skip on her birthday. Grant worked from home for a half a day, so the day was all about her, and it was extra special!

Here is Lexie's yearly photoshoot, yearly interview (which she filled out on her own), and how we celebrated her big day!

Happy 12th Birthday, Dylan!

This morning, at 8:54 AM, my beautiful firstborn turned 12 years old!

I swear I blinked and my tiny newborn turned into a young man. Time truly does fly.

Last night, as I prepared for his birthday, I questioned whether he would still care about all of our birthday traditions. I hoped so. I hoped that all the special things that we do for birthdays would be fondly remembered and carried over to his own children one day. But I was still doubtful. The answer, however, is yes. These birthday traditions matter very much, even at 12 years old.

Just how does a 12 year old celebrate his birthday?

Well...it begins with asking his parents if he could skip school on his birthday. And said parents just might have agreed considering he maintains good grades despite leaving class 4 times a week for band and orchestra AND playing basketball, and has has never asked for this before.

 

So the newest 12 year old in town got to sleep in until 11, wake up to a bedroom filled with balloons and the "Happy Birthday" banner on the living room wall, and have birthday donuts and smoothies with his mom and baby brother!

After that came a drive to the school to pick up his little sister from Kindergarten and a trip to the store to pick out his birthday outfit. Three shirts later, he was all set! After a quick stop at Target, which resulted in free popcorn, we headed to Storytime at the local library. He just might have colored a Thanksgiving picture to pass the time, then make his own fingerprint turkey craft with his little brother and sister!

After a quick lunch, Dylan's MawNaw and Nannie arrived for a visit and brought some gifts!

Dylan spent the rest of the afternoon building a new Lego set, and enjoying the private Instagram account that his parents finally allowed him to have. (With rules. SO MANY RULES.)  He was so thankful that he even willingly posed for a quick birthday photoshoot in the 28 degree weather!

When Grant finally arrived home from work, our entire family piled into the SUV and headed to Taco Bell for Dylan's birthday dinner. Birthday kid always gets to pick the restaurant!

Back at home, Dylan got to open his gifts from his siblings and a small gift from us.

He loved his light-up earbuds, wireless rechargeable speaker, cologne, hair gel and Pokemon cards and is really looking forward to his big gift, which is coming next month!

Dylan spent the evening watching TV episodes with his dad and brother while the girls went to dance. As soon as we were all together again, we ended Dylan's 12th birthday celebration with a homemade cake!

Dylan said he had a great birthday and that it was definitely his best birthday ever!

Dylan's 12 Year Birthday Interview

Age: 12

Grade: 6

Weight: 75 lbs

Height: 5'1"

1. FAVORITE COLOR? Blue!
2. FAVORITE TOY? I really don't have a favorite toy. Video games? (Sadly, toys are nearly a thing of the past.)
3. FAVORITE CHARACTER? The Joker.
4. FAVORITE SUPERHERO? That's a hard one. Can it be a supervillain, too? Deadpool! (Which he has never watched...)
5. FAVORITE FRUIT? Raspberries! Easy. The best. The best fruit EVER.
6. FAVORITE VEGETABLE?  Sweet peppers. (Agreed.)
7. FAVORITE BREAKFAST?  Donuts. All the way!
8. FAVORITE CEREAL? Frosted Flakes.
9. FAVORITE LUNCH?  Soup.
10. FAVORITE DINNER? Steak and mashed potatoes. It's delish.
11. FAVORITE DRINK? That's a hard one. Mountain Dew Kickstart. (Uhhhh...what?)
12. FAVORITE SNACK? I'm going to have to say fruit snacks. I guess.
13. FAVORITE RESTAURANT? Taco Bell. ALL THE WAY.
14. FAVORITE TV SHOW? Bob's Burgers.
15. FAVORITE MOVIE? Suicide Squad. Alllll the way. (All the way is the hot new phrase. Obviously.)
16. FAVORITE ACTOR/ACTRESS? Heath Ledger.
17. FAVORITE SONG? I'm going to have to say Heathens by Twenty One Pilots.
18. FAVORITE SINGER/BAND? Twenty One Pilots.
19. FAVORITE BOOK? Eggs by Jerry Spinelli.
20. FAVORITE BOOK SERIES? Percy Jackson.
21. FAVORITE OUTFIT? I'm going to have to say high tops with joggers, a short sleeve shirt and a hoodie. With a hat!
22. FAVORITE GAME? Life.
23. FAVORITE SPORT? Basketball.
24. FAVORITE ANIMAL? Frogs.
25. FAVORITE PLACE TO GO? The beach!
26. FAVORITE THINGS TO DO? Skateboard, play basketball and play video games.
27. FAVORITE SUBJECT? Science.
28. FAVORITE STUFFED ANIMAL?  UGH! The Dylan bear I got when I was born. The one with the converse and leather jacket. (This was not a favorite question...)
29. FAVORITE DAY OF THE WEEK? Friday!
30. FAVORITE MONTH? November!
31. FAVORITE SEASON? Summer.
32. FAVORITE HOLIDAY? It's a tie between Thanksgiving and Christmas.
33. WHO IS YOUR BEST FRIEND? Jack.
34. WHO DO YOU LIKE TO PLAY WITH? Jack, Dom, Logan, Tyler, Braden, Bre, Sophie, Cole, Tristan, Shane, John and that's it. I think.
35. WHAT MAKES YOU HAPPY? Hanging out with friends and family.
36. WHAT SCARES YOU?  Spiders. They're horrifying. I hate them!
37. WHAT MAKES YOU SAD? Seeing other people upset and losing a loved one.
38. WHAT DO YOU WISH FOR? To have a good life. (Amazing answer, buddy!)
39. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE MEMORY? When I climbed the tree and fell down and cut my leg open. (REALLY?!?)
40. WHAT DO YOU WANT TO BE WHEN YOU GROW UP? NBA player or an engineer. (Engineer.)
41. DISLIKES? Let's say...boot cut jeans. Freezing weather. And, ummm, hurting myself.

Any final thoughts? I like answering these questions. Well. Most of them.

I can't believe my beautiful son is 12 years old! 

 

He entered this world a month early and I fell in love the moment I first laid eyes on him. Dylan truly is a special boy. Yes, we deal with tween moments now, but this kid is filled with love and kindness beyond compare. 

 

Last week, when we had to say an unexpected goodbye to our horse, he sat with me on the cold ground and held my hand the entire 2 hours. It was 30 degrees and horribly sad, but never once did he complain or leave my side. I told him to sit in the car but he said he wasn't going to let me deal with it alone. That's just the person he is. He loves fiercely and is kind to everyone he encounters. I have no doubt that he will be an amazing husband and father one day. 

 

But time needs to slow down just a bit. The teenage years are just 1 year away. He will be able to drive in 4 years. In 6 years, he will leave home for college. And every single time I look at him, I picture that tiny, beautiful newborn, and the fact that 12 years passed by in the blink of an eye takes my breath away. I just want to hold on to him as tightly as I possibly can and never let him go. 

 

Happy Birthday, my sweet boy. You are so loved!!!

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