Saturday, August 25, 2012

to my almost ten month old...

(written Saturday morning, posted Saturday night;)

Hi Sweetie,
Your dad and I decided to take a trip this weekend, leaving you with your Aunt Jordy for the night...I know you are having a blast with her, because you didn't even reach for me when I said goodbye...you just smiled.

As I sit in this hotel room, all stretched out on the king size bed, savoring the quiet...I miss you terribly. I have come to realize that being a mom means your attention will never be undivided, for the rest of your life, whether your little person is there with you or not. And that's ok, because honestly, I cannot think of a better place to let my mind wander than to your sweet face.

The last few months have been filled with crazy changes for you...so many milestones, experiences, and challenges. You have transformed into an "almost-little boy" before our eyes. I know I should have kept better track of these things, but I was too busy chasing you and Sadie around (you guys are quite the duo these days;).


Here's what I do remember: right before you reached eight months, you caught the crawling bug and you were off like a little rocket, traipsing your way around the house, exploring like it was the first time you had seen everything. When you crawl, you smack your hands of the floor with so much vigor, you act like a little godzilla...which is humorous considering your tiny size. Yes, you are still a mini boy, tipping the scales at just shy of 16 lbs. and hanging out in your beloved 3rd percentile. hehe.

You also began to pull yourself up on things pretty much immediately after the crawling began, no doubt motivated by your desire to see what was on top of that table you just bumped into. You stand next to things now, holding on loosely with one hand...and sometimes do a little dancing jig. With all this new found freedom comes lots of bumps, bruises, scratches, and head bangs, leaving you briefly in tears at least once each day. I am anticipating a whole lot more of that in the coming years as we raise such a curious little boy.
Breakfast, lunch and dinner? you love them all. You eat like a champ and have very few things you dislike...favorites include: bananas, cheerios, waffles, veggie stir-fry, chicken, cheese sticks, applesauce, chick-peas, and bread and butter;) You still nurse in the morning and evening, but have started taking a bottle with organic cows milk sometimes as well. You have 4 big teeth and two that just broke through, making for an adorable toothy grin which you love to sport.

Like I mentioned earlier, you and Sadie are wonderful buddies these days...you actually spend a lot of time playing with each other throughout the day. You pass toys back and forth between you, follow each other around the house, and try (sometimes successfully) to share your snacks with one another. This past week, two puzzle pieces became casualties of your time spent together...you "fed" them to her and she promptly chomped them into tiny bits!




You are a very vocal little boy, always singing and babbling. My hope is that you will have a sincere love for music and that you will never be afraid to belt it out the way you do now. You say "Dada" all the time, and are working on making "mama" a more regular part of your vocab;) you know how too say it, but feel that most of the time "Dada" is the appropriate word for just about everything!

We love you more than ever, and talk about your sweet cheeks, chubby legs, and little fingers long into the night, usually ending with the phrase, "I just love him sooo much."
And really that is all there is to it...we do just love you sooo much, more than you will ever know. Thanks for being our special little guy...for blessing our hearts and hugging our necks. You have us wrapped in the best possible way.

love,
momma

Wednesday, August 15, 2012

Elena Iris...

Last week, the most beautiful little bundle was placed in my sisters arms as she became a momma, and her hubby, a daddy. it is such a miraculous event to stare into the face of a day-old baby and see tiny features that resemble the two of them so much.

After a few days with them, it was time for Hunter and I to return home to Pa. Before we left, I grabbed my camera and snapped a few (ok, maybe more than a few;) pictures of my beautiful niece Elena Iris.






Isn't she lovely?

Saturday, August 11, 2012

a conversation about dinner in the park

him: lets grab some hot dogs and a bag of caesar salad and have a picnic at the park.
me: eh, I have lots to do here at home.
him: cooome onnnn...I never suggest things like this, and now I do and you don wanna go?
me: I want to, but I'm kinda tired and have laundry to do and dishes to wash.
him: So what? Lets go anyway.
me: ::sigh:: ok, let's go...

One stop at the store, drive to the park, twisted tea from a solo cup, cheese-filled hot dog, salad from a bag, setting sun, contented little boy, happy dog, and grinning husband later...I was so glad we went.

















Our little excursion tonight made me think, why don't we drop everything for family nights in the park more often? What is is about house work that draws me in like a vortex and holds me against my will? Where are my priorities anyway??

So here's to more evenings in the park, just the four of us...laughing together and loving each other... here's to one more month of summer, and drinking it in for all its worth.


Thursday, August 9, 2012

Beach in a Bag



















Last week I went to visit a dear friend who had broken her ankle in a surfing accident...leaving her housebound for a few weeks until she heals from surgery.

To cheer her up, I brought her a little gift, tagged, "beach-in-a-bag", including candles, shells, rope rings, anchor napkins, cute little plates, and hand painted salad "oars"...

On the postcard, I inscribed this quote, “The Sea, once it casts its spell, holds one in its net of wonder forever.” --Jacques Cousteau


Sharing with:
Delightful Order
Yesterday on Tuesday 

Friday, August 3, 2012

Top 50 memories.









































Last week we were in South Carolina on our family vacation, and although my head is still in “vacation mode”, life is starting to return to normal. We crammed so many wonderful memories into our week that I decided to compile a list of the top 50

1.     My hubby, all ours, all week…
2.     My boy. Love him.
3.     Farmer’s tans (hubby lost one, baby got one)
4.     Blissful days, windy nights
5.     Mom’s old pop-up camper
6.     Ants
7.     Fresh produce
8.     Ants (whoops, did I list that twice?;)
9.     Bare feet and flip flops
10. Laughter and good friends
11. Sunday morning church on the beach
12. Sweet southern ladies who share Bibles and golf carts
13. Meeting people hundreds of miles from home who love Jesus, just like us
14. Little red car, with the CUTEST driver I have ever seen
15. Bowls full of shells
16. Ice Cream
17. Lazy river
18. Twisted tea
19. Date night
20. Almond stuffed chicken
21. Dinner on the beach
22. Seeing little man across the beach with family while on “date”...wanting to run up and squeeze him.
23. Washing dishes in the ocean
24. Playing speedball at the arcade
25. Buying trinkets with our tickets
26. Ring pops
27. Fishing pier
28. “Live music”
29. Lightning storm
30. Moonlit bike ride with hubby
31. Holding hands
32. Good books
33. Baby Mohawks
34. Plastic barrel drummers
35. All you can eat crab legs
36. Little cousins
37. Aunts, Uncles, Grammy and Pap
38. Beautiful sunsets
39. Baby surf shirts
40. Phone + ocean = failure
41. Attempted naptimes and portable crib jail-breaks
42. First carousel ride
43. Long drive home
44. WAY too much Mc D’s.
45. A quick stop at Nicole’s to get some sleep and rub that sweet belly of hers (come soon little Miss, your Aunt can’t wait to squeeze you!)
46. Home again
47. Laundry, laundry, and more laundry
48. Reunited with Sadie, complete with squeals of happiness from Hunter
49. Contented sighs, tired feet
50. Happy family