"I'm having a ball. Scrapping and yelling and mixing it up. Loving every minute with this damn crew." ~Royal Tenenbaum (The Royal Tenenbaums)

Saturday, March 6, 2010

Storytelling

Caelan LOVES for us to make up stories for him. It's what we do every night at bedtime. He is starting to really understand storytelling and now likes to do it himself. Recent spontaneous stories from Caelan...

"Once upon a time there was a blue train named Thomas and a green train named Percy. They were having fun. The end."

"Once upon a time there was Thomas and Bertie. They had a race. The end."

Of course his stories tend to be about his favorite friends from the Sodor Railway!

Monday, February 22, 2010

Caelan's teaching instinct

A conversation from just a few minutes ago after Caelan finished a juice box...

Caelan: More!
Me: *silence*
Caelan: More juice box!
Me: *silence*
Caelan: More juice box!
Me (turning to Avery): Avery, I think Caelan might want another juice box, but he's not asking the right way.
Caelan: "More please, Mommy? Avery, I have to ask nicely for a juice box and say more please."

I love that he didn't just correct his own manners when I used Avery to give him a hint; he also used the moment to teach Avery what he knows. He really has a teaching instinct, which is so nice for our family. He's an amazing role model for Avery already.

Sunday, January 10, 2010

My precious first born baby boy

I am so glad I started this blog, because I would be devastated to lose the moment I had with Caelan last night.

Since he was about 3 months old, I've been singing him Ingrid Michaelson's "The Way I Am." It became "his song." For some reason, though, over the last few months, I haven't been singing it to him as much... just the craziness of life, I guess. I haven't been singing as much in general, and when I do sing, I tend to sing regular kid songs, like Twinkle Twinkle and Ants Go Marching. But last night, as I was rocking him in the chair in the living room, I realized he wasn't really ready to go to sleep yet. I pulled him into a hug and sang him "The Way I Am." When I was done, he asked for more "Way I Am," then after I sang it a second time, he wanted it again. At one point, he looked up into my eyes and, in his little angel voice, whispered "Again, Mommy? Again and again and again?" I almost cried on the spot. I love that he loves that song. I love that he loves me singing to him. I love him SO SO SO much.

Teensy Caelou with Mommy...
From Caelan - First month


Big boy Caelou with Mommy...
From Caelan Louis - Twenty Sixth Month

'Cause I love you more than I could ever promise... and you take me the way I am.

Thursday, January 7, 2010

Recent Caelanisms, catch phrases, and sweet moments

"NO WAIF!" (meaning "No way!")

"I don't think so!"

"I don't want to!"

While lying on Daddy's chest getting rocked to sleep: "It sounds like a little drum!" (hearing Daddy's heartbeat)

Mommy: "Caelan, do you feel sick or do you feel fine?"
Caelan: "I feel HAPPY!"

Mommy: "Caelan did you have a nice morning with Daddy or a grumpy morning with Daddy?"
Caelan: "I had a HAPPY morning with Daddy!"

Heard by Mommy while sleeping with Caelan on a recent night when he was sick: "Pa... pa... POOPIE!" followed by an explosion of giggles, all while sound asleep.

Tuesday, January 5, 2010

My New Year's Resolution

Welcome New Year! Welcome 2010! My New Year's Resolution at the beginning of this new decade is to do a better job capturing all the big adventures and little moments in my family's life. So, without further ado, I present "Scrapping and Yelling," the new McIlwraith family blog. Our blog's title comes from one of Andy's and my favorite movies The Royal Tenenbaums. For those of you reading this via LiveJournal, I will repeat the quotation at the top of the blog for you...

"I'm having a ball. Scrapping and yelling and mixing it up. Loving every minute with this damn crew." ~Royal Tenenbaum

That's how Andy and I feel every moment of our lives, with each other and with our two amazing sons. Life, with all its immense goodness coupled with the bad we're challenged to overcome, is an absolute PLEASURE. We don't want to forget the things that leave us laughing or crying or just in AWE every day, and we want to share them with loved ones who can't be with us all the time. So... welcome to our world!

I leave you with a few silly pictures of our crazy crew, courtesy of the lovely and talented Jessica Manzano: