Feel the Music

Evan:  "Turn on music, Mama!"
(I turn the radio to Evan's favorite station)
Evan:  "Turn it up louder, please."
(I crank the volume up a few notches)
Evan:  "It's Enrique and Ludacris, Mama!" (He then proceeds to sing along to the song Tonight)

Music is such a personal preference that even a two year old knows what he likes.  I often scan the radio looking for  a good song and, without fail, Evan will scream out when he hears a song he likes.  He also makes sure to tell me when he doesn't like a song, meaning I better find another one that he approves of.

The artists shown above are Evan's current favorites.  If I had to rank them in order the Black Eyed Peas would take the number one spot, followed by Enrique, then Cee Lo and finally, Britney.  Each of their songs have Evan bobbing his head back and forth and side to side in the backseat.  It's almost like something comes over him - he's somewhat possessed when he listens to their songs.  He does this really strange thing with his eyes and mouth like he's in some sort of trance.  As soon as he realizes I'm looking at him he breaks out of it and starts laughing.  Talk about feeling the music...

His preference for hip hop/pop music is really strong by day, but by night his preference is country.  I imagine it's a little easier to fall asleep to "Need You Now" than "Boom Boom Pow."

What happened to "a quack quack here and a moo moo there?"  Maybe we should do a hip hop remix of Old MacDonald.

Let Beach Season Begin

Saturday.  Eighty degrees outside.  Looking for something to do...

LET BEACH SEASON BEGIN!

Evan has been begging to go to the beach for several weeks now and Saturday couldn't have been more perfect of a day to go.  Mattie hasn't been feeling very well for the past few days, but I thought the salty air and cool breeze might be somewhat therapeutic for her as well.  So while Robert worked, Mimi helped me tote both kids and all of our beach gear over to Garden City Beach.

There's no trip we take that doesn't involve some sort of issue and this trip was no exception.  It was bad enough that Evan had an accident in his swimming trunks (#2), but being that the weather is just starting to get warm I have not had a chance to purchase new summer clothes that fit - so his shorts were not easy to get down turning this accident into a disgusting, sandy mess.  Luckily Evan didn't seem to mind being completely nude on the beach with his mama wiping his rear end - it was one of those moments where I realized just how much my life has changed.  But I smile about it.  I really do.

Mattie Jane's First Beach Trip

Memory Boxes

The main purpose of this blog is to serve as a family journal so that our kids have a written account of our lives together and, most importantly, a record of their childhood.  Childhood memories are some of the greatest memories from my life and, other than what I have locked in my mind, I don't have anything tangible except pictures.

So many times I'll start telling a story from childhood, like how much my brothers and I used to love playing with our He-Man figurines or  how I can still smell the scent of my Strawberry Shortcake doll.  I can still recall how I used to lock myself in my room as an early teen and play Madonna's "Like a Prayer" cassette tape over and over again and listen to my brothers make fun of me or the hours I spent making friendship bracelets from the colorful string I bought from the craft store.  And every time I tell these stories I always wish I had  kept something just for memory's sake.  And I'm pretty sure Evan would think Skeletor was awesome too - especially knowing his mama used to play with him when she was a little girl.

So that Evan wouldn't have the same regrets, I began collecting various things that represented something of significance to each stage of his life.  I knew I had to be extremely selective in what I chose because the collection could easily get out of control even in just his first year.  Everything I had set aside is now in a large Rubbermaid container - his memory box.  I have also started one for Mattie.  I'm hoping that by the time they are both teenagers they can begin adding their own items of importance and possibly carry this on through their adult years.  I think their children would find it absolutely fascinating to go through 90+ years of their parents' memorabilia.

Robert's Great Grandma lived to be 107 years old.  Not too long ago, during one of our visits to see Robert's mom, we had the amazing experience of going through 107 years of his Great Grandma's things.  She had an immaculate collection of lifelong memories kept in a trunk from her childhood.  Pulling out her baby shoes from the late 1800's and reading letters that her father had written her - I can't even describe how incredible that was.  But what I found most amazing is how every single item had a little note attached  describing its significance.  I believe Robert's Grandma did this at some point while his Great Grandma was still alive so that once she wasn't around to tell the story behind her collection  her things would still be documented for others.

At the top of my blog I have added two new tabs - "Evan's Memory Box" and "Mattie Jane's Memory Box."  These pages contain pictures and descriptions so that they too will understand the significance of the items I have collected from their childhood.  This serves as the starting point for their 100+ years of memories.