A Decade in the Making...

Graduation. In some ways law school has been easy and hard. Easy, as in, I never went through it. I never had to sit in class three nights a week, read and reread and study groups two days a week. Hell, I still really don't know what a "tort" is. I have heard Lyell and my brothers talking about them in this weird second language when they get together. I had the easy part. Sit back and just say "good luck...I'll be asleep when you get home!"

But in some ways law school has been the toughest thing I have been through. In the four years of law school (ten years total) Lyell has been in school, we have gone through fertility treatments, had two kids, hospital visits, surgeries and numerous health issues. The stress of getting through a day and most of the time not even seeing Lyell was always tough on me. He is my center and when I only saw him to kick him out of bed in the morning so we wouldn't be late for work had me off kilter. Days where Lyell would step out of class to FaceTime Ellie good night. Days where the first thing Ellie would say when we got home at night "daddy have to go to school?".

These days are now over.

Forever.

Craziness. I am not saying our life is now a piece of cake. Its probably going to be tougher. But onward and upward.

I'm so proud of Lyell. I can remember sitting at a restaurant one night and Lyell was talking about some case that happened that day in my dads courtroom (obviously not a good one because I cant even think of what happen)...but he said he could have done better than the attorney that was representing the family. My response...then do it. Become an attorney. The rest is history. Six years later he now a doctor. WHOA!

Lyell,
  Can you believe it? It seems like yesterday we were teenagers daydreaming of your imaginary band opening for NIN and I was going to follow you around and be the bands photographer. Now we are adults with real vision, real jobs, and real accomplishments. You have amazed me with your tenacity, commitment and shear joy of a job that makes you happy. I hope you know how proud I am of you. Seeing you in your element makes me feel like a proud mamma bear. You did it! Knowledge is something no person can take away from you. No matter where our roller coaster road takes us, I am glad you went for it. I love you boo.

So I am off to watch Lyell and his friends walk across the stage. Its going to be a grand day indeed. 

My Little May Flowers

Ellie.

Ellie is still all girl. Baby dolls rule the roost with lovies coming in second now a days. 

Ellie stutters a little. I was worried at first but I feel like it's getting better. You are  so inquisitive, you have a hard time asking the questions your little brain is wondering about.

We are almost done with daycare and Ellie will move on up to pre-k. What? I know, right! I am still in shock about this transition but I know she will do great.

She loves Maleficent. She originally watched it at her G-Daddy's house and then it spiraled into obsession where she was yelling at the cat across the street "You're no King to me" and calling Win "beastly". We had some friends send Ellie some Maleficent gifts from Disney. Happiest girl ever!! 

There are weekends where naps are for babies and you try so hard to fight off sleep. 

You are so sweet to Win. For the majority of the time. You want to wash him, hold him, walk him to class and karate chop him when he touches any of your baby strollers.

We watch Maleficent and Daniel Tiger Neighborhood like it's going out of style. 

Art is something Lyell and I think you excels in. Probably bias but she LOVES her art box that includes paint, markers, sissors and colored washabi tape. Her mixed media is out of sight!!

She loves space and the moon. Basically weather in general. We open our yahoo weather app and look at the up coming weather. She get very serious when the thunder and lighting blows through. Always asking if today is summertime or wintertime. And she loves checking if the moon is big or itty bitty for the night.

Her Spotify Playlist we have been listening for a few months:
Lana Del Ray "Once Upon a Dream" (Shocker)
Sister Sledge "We are family"
Sia "Chandelier"
Skrillex "Ragga Bomb"
Joywave "Tongues"
The Lion King "Hakuna Matata"
Beauty and the Beast "Be our Guest"
Until the Ribbon Breaks "Romeo"
Rae Sremmurd "No Flex Zone"
Priory "Weekend"
....And several staple Ellie songs. Her dance moves are something to be jealous of.

She has a sugar tooth like her mommy.

She is the best thing that has ever happened to me. She is so verbal about her feelings which makes me tap into mine. She pushed me to my limits. She is my heart song. 

Win.

Win is all boy. Like gross ALL BOY...There are car rides that consist of spitting the entire way. There is nights where dinner ends up all on the floors and 15 minutes later Win is eating off the floor. So gross, I know.

We throw balls. Kick balls. Hold onto balls like its an extremity.

One day we went from the crab man crawl to walking. It was over night. No walkers, just straight chasing Ellie in circles.

The difference between both my kids has really amazed me. Ellie loves books art and actually talking. Win is physically more advanced at the age that he is at now than when Ellie was 15 months. But Win will not speak a word. Man grunts and pointing is the extent of his communication skills. I have been working with signing, hopefully it will switch on just like his walking.

Win is so tan. I am crazy jealous. My religiously fake tanner lotion legs are barely matching his butt that hasn't seen the light of day. Sigh!

The last time we went to the doctor at 14 months, Win weighed 25.15 lbs. Heavy stinker!! I mean he eats everything plus eighteen bananas before going to bed.

Loves exploring at the park. He actually went down the slide by himself before Ellie would. Such a dare devil. One day I had just wrapped a large present and it was still sitting smack dab in the middle of the living room. Win woke up from his nap and I set him on the couch as he woke up. After about two minutes, his eyes caught the big box and literally dove off the couch did a tumble into a standing position and literally ran to rip it open. Snatched up by me before he could really make a mess. Next time I might not be so lucky.

Win is on the front page of the Goodpasture website right now. Super crazy...proceed with laughter!

Loves Winnie the Pooh. So this one might be my fault. We went to every Goodwill known to middle Tennessee looking for Winnie the Poohs for his birthday party, he probably thinks he kinda has too...ya know, out of respect. They had dress up day at school a few weeks back and he immediately picked the Winnie the Pooh costume. The girls thought it was hilarious. It made my heart smile.

Loves bubble baths. We get a little wild...but thats what bubble baths are for. Right?

Win is my lefty. We are pretty excited about his baseball potential....not pushing it or anything...we might just be already imaging are older years with a Orioles pitcher! No pressure!

Win. You might throw us for a loop but you are my main squeeze. Like, I literally like to squeeze you! You are my happy smile. The laughs you make when I tickle your kneecaps make me giggle. The looks you make when waking up in the morning are the reason why I even wake up on the morning. Since you have been here in this earth, you have made my life complete. This summer is going to be a blast with you by my side. I can't wait to keep exploring with you and showing you the world you light up with your contagious smile. Never stop exploring bud bud!!!

***Professional Photos by Brooke Kelly Photography 

Some things I have learned about motherhood on Mother's Day this year:

1. You don't really have the day off.

2. A bad fall and an abrasion on your child's head will produce a large amount of blood, a massive goose egg and one scared dad-man. 

3. You will tell your child pretty much anything to stay still for a CT scan...like the biggest surprise you have been waiting for..."Stay still baby. Guess what, we are going to Disney in two weeks!"

4. You will not regret getting an accidental policy on your family less than a month before. Its pretty much already paid for itself. 

5. All is well. I promise. It could have been much worse. And the day ended with me cuddling with my little accident-prone girl, loving being a MOTHER.