thankful

Last week, Xavier had his first major accident, slipping face-first into the half wall of the tub. His eye lid split open, and in the end, it was just a scare with no real harm done. However, in the moments after, when his eye instantly swelled, he was shrieking, bleeding and not letting me anywhere near the injury, I was trying to figure out how I was going to get him to the ER. 

The drama unfolded. I was home alone (well, I was the only adult, there were five other living beings here with me). And once the situation was under control, I was simply thankful. 

Thankful for my sister-in-law who provided much needed medical advice and calm. Thankful for my neighbor who dropped everything and came over to help with the other boys, including Isaac who got himself out of the tub and was running around the house, dripping and naked. Thankful for the nurse on the pediatrician's answering service, who really took her time with me on the phone to figure out what was best for Xavier. Thankful for Mo, who kept checking in, even though he was physically too far away to do much. 

Since becoming a parent, I find that I have never been so thankful in my entire life. There are the little things I give thanks for: sleeping in until 7 am, exercising, a short line in the grocery store. There are the big things I'm thankful for: grandparents, teachers, babysitters, good health. But, I'm also so thankful when people go out of their way to do something above and beyond for a child.

For example, it's hard to explain how much it means when the trash collectors wave at the boys. Every Wednesday, the boys' noses are pressed to our living room windows, watching the trash truck work its way down our street. When it approaches our house, the boys wave and wave and wave. Sometimes, the trash guys wave back. It totally makes their morning. 

This week, we had another stranger go out of his way to do something special for the boys. The boys are currently obsessed with dinosaurs and have exhausted my knowledge on the subject. We're always on the hunt for an age appropriate, non-fiction dino book. And I'm always looking up who was a carnivore, who was a herbivore, in what time period they lived, etc. There's a fabulous PBS show, Dinosaur Train, that obviously thrills the kids in this house. It's hosted by Dr. Scott, the paleontologist. In a moment of desperation last week, I emailed him the boys' unanswered questions - to show them another way to find an answer to a question and then to show them some of the cool stuff on the Dr. Scott web site. I never expected a response. 

But, just a few days later, this showed up in my inbox:

Hello Finnian and Isaac,

Thank you for the message.  My guess is that you two know lots of dinosaurs.  Believe it or not, paleontologists have named over 800 different kinds!  There are many great places to look for dinosaurs in the US, including Montana, Colorado, Wyoming, Utah, Texas, and Arizona.  Triceratops is one of my favorites too Isaac.  And Finnian, we are finding bones from a new kind of Parasaurolophus in southern Utah, so stay tuned!  Ok, remember, get outside and make your own discoveries!

Best wishes,

Dr. Scott

What a treat! Thanks for adding to the magic of childhood, Dr. Scott. The big boys, and Xavier with his new little scar, are busy making all kinds of discoveries. 

And I continue to be thankful to watch them grow.

Isaac? He's 3 now!

A few weeks ago, our sweet Isaac turned 3. 3! It's hard to believe this fun fun child is (almost) potty trained, getting ready for swim lessons and preschool and getting funnier and more independent each day. If I had a dollar for every time someone tells me that your children's childhoods go by so fast, I would be one rich mama with so many more camera lenses and a ticket to Hawaii. But I have to admit, with Isaac, his three years on this planet have gone by so quickly. He's at such a cute age - not as naughty, but more and more talkative and inquisitive. He still has a little voice and drops every "r." He is the most outgoing of the whole family and regularly starts conversations with strangers. He loves music and is often either dancing or singing. I can't wait until he's old enough to go to theatre camp. He loves boats and wants to be like Mo. He's really physical and often bumps himself without any tears. Check out his bruises! 

His sidekick, Owl, recently got his first big patches, and continues to serve as kleenex, bandaid, pillow, towel and chew toy.

Isaac's mostly done with naps, which has opened up the afternoon to a new win-win-win phenomena: big brother play time. They (most of the time) really like hanging out together and thinking up their own games. It's nice that they have one time of the day where they can spread out on the living room floor without a baby to crash their creations. 

This day, they ate a whole bag of cupcake goldfish crackers. Have you tried those yet? They are so good.

But, back to the big birthday. Isaac requested a chocolate cake with green frosting, so Finnian and I made that wish happen.

Isaac (and Finnian for that matter) is obsessed with dinosaurs right now, so we thought we spread that theme to the cake. I downloaded a few graphics from the pbskids.org web site and we cut them out for cake toppers.

Like all Murphy family birthdays, the day started with a magically-decorated kitchen and a birthday breakfast. Then Isaac got his most anticipated gift of the day: a visit from Auntie Lindsey!

We planned a special outing to a local dinosaur park. This place is so neat, but pricey, so we had been saving it for a special day. It did not disappoint. There were trails with life-size dinos, a maze and playground. Isaac loved it and we had a super time.

Who knew that a brachiosaurus foot could make such a great seat? 

While Isaac's current fave is the T-Rex, he wasn't so sure he wanted to get up close when he saw it. 

Grami helped him warm up.

Then, the fear melted away and Isaac showed the rest of the dinos some love. 

We enjoyed the rest of the day at home and finished it off with a party.

The cake was a hit.

And so was the day!

Happy Birthday I! We are so proud of the big boy and sweet friend you are becoming.

You bring so much joy to this family.