Happiness Is...

The first few sips of Vanilla Coke.

It's back!!! After being gone for a year and a half they brought back our favorite carbonated beverage: Vanilla Coke! Mmmmm. I saw it on the shelf yesterday at Wal-Mart and almost did a happy dance right there in the aisle. Jason and I are huge Vanilla Coke fans. We went to their website last night and it is indeed back. Yay! We love it so much that last night he confessed to trying to buy some on ebay awhile back (as a gift) but it got too expensive. Ha! Last time we knew they were discontinuing it so we bought a few packs. We drank the last one as my sugary caffiene on our way to my 18 week "big" ultrasound to find out if Dalton was a boy or a girl. It was a bottled one and was kinda flat by then.

Anyway...you can tell how happy this makes me since I just devoted so much time talking about it and snapped a picture of myself drinking it.

But that's not why you came...the boys...well, Easton is being a good breakfast eater this week. Monday was the nearly 2 doughnuts, Tuesday he ate almost 2 Eggo waffles, and today he had 4 small bowls of cereal. This is very impressive, people. It's Easton we're talking about, after all. Here is Mr. Sticky Fingers during yesterday's waffles. He's trying to slime me:


He is continuing to amuse me. Like yesterday, I mixed him some milk with his Carnation Instant Breakfast like always and gave it to him in his sippy. He wandered back over to me and said, "It's good milk, Mama". But of course! When we were getting him dressed yesterday I pulled out a hand-me-down shirt from Max (it's green) and he told me. "I like green" and then for his jeans he said, "Oh, I like blue pants" and I said, "They're called jeans" and he said, "I like jeans". Well, I'm glad.

He's getting smarter too. Sometimes I'll tell him something, "Easton, you may not kick the wall at nap time" and then I'll go, "Do you understand?" Well, he always used to say yes (or nothing at all if he was feeling defiant). Now he's on to me and when I say something like that and ask if he understands he's started saying, "No". Oh I think you do, my friend. Only someone who really understands would know to say "no". Goob. He was rolling around on the floor like a loon the other day and I asked, "Why are you rolling like that, Bud?" and he answered, "'cause". Ha! We never ever talk like that so...he's learning things elsewhere again. I thought it was funny.

What other Eastie funnies? Oh...sometimes (like all of us) he'll bite his tongue or cheek and that hurts so to give him something to do about it I've said, "Here...take a sip of cool milk and that will help". Well, now he's taken to putting milk on various other minor bonks as well. He pretends (thank goodness!) and will hold the cup over the "owie" site and go "Psssssh" like he's pouring some out. Then magically he's better. Whatever works, dude. He really is quite amusing to me. And his brother. Dalton just loves to watch him. Yesterday I put Dalton facing forward in the Snugli for the first time. Both boys really liked that. Dizz could look around and at Easton sitting in the cart in front of him. Easton liked it too.
On the way out a woman was standing outside her car, on her phone, and smoking and she was like, "Oh my gosh! Do you need a tissue?" and I was puzzled until she said, "He's got boogers allllll over your thing (the Snugli)". How long had he been like that? Eew. And how embarassing. I couldn't help but laugh out loud (seriously...I'm not just "LOLing" here, people) all the way to my car--and my box of tissues. Poor Dalton.

Last night was horrendous with Dalton. I'm hoping it's just because he's still a little sick or because he didn't get enough naps (strange but true theory). I put him to bed at 8:25 and snuck his pacifier out. He stirred a few more times shortly thereafter and we'd give it to him for a few and take it back out again. I'd say by 8:30 he was asleep. 45 minutes later...guess who? Dizzle needs the paci briefly again and we sneak it back out...again. As we were trying to fall asleep last night it's him again (11:50). I try and try with just the pacifier but he won't let me sneak it back out without getting all cranky about it so I decided to nurse him instead.
2:10--pacifier
2:17--pacifier
3:24--pacifier
3:46--pacifier
4:05--nurse
5:16--pacifier
5:54--pacifier and flip him to his other side
7:02--pacifier (I'm already up by this time, though)
7:41--pacifier
8:30--up for the day

Good heavens! I am a firm believer that babies his age have a need to suck and I also firmly believe that I don't always want to be what he sucks on. Personal preference. So...the paci it is...Good thing he's not usually so restless at night. That's also why we sneak that pacifier back out of his mouth so he's not used to "needing" it (or nursing) to fall asleep. Will my sleep troubles ever end? :)

Today was Gym...the question of the day was "What is your favorite sport?" Easton did not know what this meant. So, when it was his turn I said, "Do you like baseball?" and he said "Yes". When it was another kid's turn, Easton answered "football" for him. Goob. He did very well with everything else. He totally has the hang of following his teachers' directions. He is so good.

My mommy friend Susannah (Max's mom) said, "All kids seem to have their "thing"...like Easton is a good listener but he doesn't eat (true 'dat!). Max isn't the best listener but he's a great sleeper (and eater)." Hmmmm. She may be on to something. And all this time I'm thinking I have something to do with how he is. Who knows? I'm sure it's a combination of parenting and temperment. I'm just glad I'm happy with my kid...most of the time. Being a parent really made me understand "unconditional love". Being married once before I don't feel you can love your spouse completely unconditionally...or maybe just not the spouse I had ;) 'Cause I certainly don't love him anymore...but nothing will ever make me stop loving these boys. And they didn't do anything special to get my unconditional love which is pretty cool too. Forget the Vanilla Coke...happiness is being a family.

The end.