My Dearest Baby,
I was just sitting in bed, breathing you in while we snuggled for a nap and I realized I hadn't written you a birthday note yet!
We celebrated you with very little fanfare this year. Daddy's parents, Turbo and Gran, and Uncle Russ were in town for a visit and we snuck away to Coronado for a few days. We didn't do much, as vacationers are want to do, but on your birthday we took the family to Sea World. I thought it would be pretty lost on you but you LOVED it! We sat and watched the Shamu Believe show and you yelled and clapped for the whales the whole time. I can't wait to take you back when you're a little bit older.
When I think about how we spend our days, I feel a little guilty because they're so much busier than my baby days with your brothers. I feel like we're always running errands, or going on play dates. Now that you're a little bigger, you're really starting to feel part of it all. The big kids are forever yelling at me to come get you as you try to destroy whatever masterpiece they're building, steal their toy, their water, their food. I know you just don't realize that you're not so big yet. I always try to get home to snuggle you for a nap - I so relish that time with you! Mealtimes might be your favorite of all - I've never seen a kid eat like you do! You're a bottomless pit! You like just about anything but meat and veggies are your favorite. You adore chicken and squash. I swear I don't know where you put it!
When Daddy comes home, you get SUPER excited! You crawl as fast as your chubby little legs can carry you screaming "DADADAAAA". If he doesn't pick you up immediately, you continue to scream while scaling his legs. Truly I've never seen a baby boy so in love with his Daddy! Once we've said our hellos, we take our tubs. You love getting in and playing with your big brothers. It makes us so happy to see all three of you playing nicely together. After we put your big brothers to bed, you have some one-on-one time with Daddy. He loves snuggling with you and that's pretty much how you fall asleep every night. You're still not sleeping all through the night (good thing you're cute!) and when you wake up around 5ish, Daddy just brings you in here with us and you go right back to sleep between us until your brothers come in and hop in to wake us all up.
You're not a walker yet. Crawling up a storm and cruising, but not yet ready to take the steps on your own. You also have no teeth?!? Very odd but the Dr. said not to worry till you're two so we have a ways to go - and it doesn't stop you from eating everything so I guess it's all good! You're also a talking fool. Daddy laughs at me when I talk about how I thought I'd get at least one quiet child. Not you! You say "Mama", "Dada", "Daddy", "Uh-oh", "Hi", and "Bye" as well as "Thank You" which cracks us up because you say it so well (and appropriately!) sometimes we have to look to see which child said it! You're also pretty good at repeating things when we say them to you. You also have terrific comprehension and can follow Mommy's directions well - when you want to! I know you understand almost everything I tell you :)
That's your life right now my little one! I'm trying to remember daily that you're only little for the smallest of time and you're growing up too fast!
I love you more than you know! (At least until you have children of your own someday :)
Mama
Sunday, August 22, 2010
Sunday, August 08, 2010
My Favorite Things: Nursery
Talk of moving has picked up around here and it reminded me how much I wanted to document this house so my children would always remember what their home was like when they were little. So I've covered my favorite things about the kitchen and the family room. But I think my most favorite room in the house is the nursery. I adore this room...
I wanted a fun nursery that could work for a boy or a girl (turns out I didn't need to consider the latter!) and I didn't want it to have any cartoon or animal theme. We settled on happy shades of yellow with dark woods. The bedding is a celestial theme, adding in some blues. Brooks and I framed in the windows and striped the walls ourselves when I was pregnant with Fin...
The Wooly Mammoth who keeps watch on the babies was a gift from Brooks when we decided to start a family. We saw it in a boutique toy store and I was smitten. I couldn't imagine him getting loved on by any children other than those I might have. So even though there were none yet on the way, Brooks bought it. The quilt underneath was made by my Aunt Jan for my mother when I was born...
We wanted to do something fun with the walls and since studies show that babies love to see the faces of other babies we thought it would be fun to go with all baby pictures of family members. I bought these plain wood frames and craft supplies at Michaels and we designed, painted and decorated them. I hand colored and printed baby pictures of our siblings, parents and grands and hung them with coordinating ribbons...
Bottom: Dash, Top: Fin
Top: My Dad, Middle: Me, Bottom: My Mom
Top: Brooks' Mom and her twin sister, Middle: Brooks' Dad, Bottom: Brooks (and he made that frame)
Left: My Brother Brandon, Middle: Brooks' Brother Russ, Right: My Brother Chase
Top: My Maternal Grandmother, Middle: My Paternal Grandmother, Right: My Paternal Grandfather
We put an awful lot of love into decorating this room. Hard to believe that when we started I didn't even know what I was having! I can remember having a conversation with Brooks about how many children we thought might spend their nights in this room. I'm pretty sure neither of us thought the answer would be three little boys! And while I find the prospect of more space and a fresh start to be very appealing, I'd be a liar if I said that leaving this room wasn't going to make me cry like a baby!!
I wanted a fun nursery that could work for a boy or a girl (turns out I didn't need to consider the latter!) and I didn't want it to have any cartoon or animal theme. We settled on happy shades of yellow with dark woods. The bedding is a celestial theme, adding in some blues. Brooks and I framed in the windows and striped the walls ourselves when I was pregnant with Fin...
The Wooly Mammoth who keeps watch on the babies was a gift from Brooks when we decided to start a family. We saw it in a boutique toy store and I was smitten. I couldn't imagine him getting loved on by any children other than those I might have. So even though there were none yet on the way, Brooks bought it. The quilt underneath was made by my Aunt Jan for my mother when I was born...
We wanted to do something fun with the walls and since studies show that babies love to see the faces of other babies we thought it would be fun to go with all baby pictures of family members. I bought these plain wood frames and craft supplies at Michaels and we designed, painted and decorated them. I hand colored and printed baby pictures of our siblings, parents and grands and hung them with coordinating ribbons...
Bottom: Dash, Top: Fin
Top: My Dad, Middle: Me, Bottom: My Mom
Top: Brooks' Mom and her twin sister, Middle: Brooks' Dad, Bottom: Brooks (and he made that frame)
Left: My Brother Brandon, Middle: Brooks' Brother Russ, Right: My Brother Chase
Top: My Maternal Grandmother, Middle: My Paternal Grandmother, Right: My Paternal GrandfatherWe put an awful lot of love into decorating this room. Hard to believe that when we started I didn't even know what I was having! I can remember having a conversation with Brooks about how many children we thought might spend their nights in this room. I'm pretty sure neither of us thought the answer would be three little boys! And while I find the prospect of more space and a fresh start to be very appealing, I'd be a liar if I said that leaving this room wasn't going to make me cry like a baby!!
Monday, July 26, 2010
An AWOL Update
So BlogHer sends me a "where the hell are you" email when I don't post for two weeks. I'm exaggerating, it's actually a very nice reminder that I've gone AWOL along with an understanding note that all bloggers need a break. Indeed I do need a break. But not so much from the blogging.
I love this family of mine, but weh have we been busy lately (and now I've given away that I did indulge in devouring a book over the past few days - bet you can guess which one). So here's the current view from the home-front!
Business (and now I think of that episode of Fin and Jake Adventure Time whenever I hear that word..."I remember busssiinneeesss") is booming for Dad. He's had some long days lately but as I constantly remind myself, he's not traveling anymore so it's all good. Fin is working his way through the stack of workbooks that have taken up residence on our kitchen table. I swear I never thought a kid would get THAT excited over mazes and cutting pages! But he's smart as a whip, that one. Dash has *finally* mastered the art of potty usage. Thank Jebus. But seriously, I'm beyond proud and at the same time completely floored that he just decided he was done with diapers and justlikethat started wearing undies. We've had a few accidents but none major and all more upsetting to the trainee than the mommy so that's a win. And although I was uber nervous about it, I gave in to his insistence that he wear undies to sleep out the gate and he has just done beautifully. Potty use, counting, learning his letters, and yet Dash STILL cannot grasp the colors. He knows blue and pink and purple but green, red, orange, and yellow are always wrong. I even gave him a child test for colorblindness which he passed with flying colors. I'm trying not to worry about it, one thing at a time. Kell is a movin and a shakin all over the place. It took the third, but I have finally broken down and had to use a baby gate as it seems like his largest goal in life is to careen head-first down the stairs. He's pulling up on anything he can get his hands on too but still not a steady stander yet. He babbles all day, loudly, and yet still has no teeth?!? The Dr. told me that they don't worry about that till the kiddos hit two. I hope it doesn't come to that. We're also working on the weaning - the main hurdle being that he HATES milk. I left him unattended with Monika for few minutes today and she was all too eager to show him the beauty of chocolate milk. So I guess the good news is that I can get him to drink the stuff, it just has to be chocolate. Stinker.
I'm still trying to get my butt in running shape. Registration for the half-marathon opened this past week (I know, right, it's in November! Why are you stressing me out already?!?). I haven't officially signed up yet. I need to be able to run 4 miles easily and get my long runs over 6 to feel like I could really do it. It just seems soooo far...But I don't think I could forgive myself if I don't do it, so I guess I should just buck-up and sign up already. I've also been trying to get the fam out and about more this summer - to the beach, the pool, the zoo, the grove - and so far so good. Not to be gushy, but I really am so blessed to have that husband who rolls over and just asks what I want to do each day. Well, each weekend day. And that's after grumbling about whichever kid refused to go to bed/got up to use the bathroom/lost a pacifier etc. It's not all sunshine around here people!
I promise a more interesting entry soon. Like how I would have smacked that Farrah on Teen Mom if she were my daughter too (I mean seriously, what an ungrateful little ho!) Or perhaps an open discourse on whether or not my plan of finding someone to pose as the mythical Miss Crabapple (the evil, child-hating, wooden paddle-wielding babysitter) to frighten the snot out of my kids could cause possible therapy demanding damage. I say no. Discuss...
I love this family of mine, but weh have we been busy lately (and now I've given away that I did indulge in devouring a book over the past few days - bet you can guess which one). So here's the current view from the home-front!
Business (and now I think of that episode of Fin and Jake Adventure Time whenever I hear that word..."I remember busssiinneeesss") is booming for Dad. He's had some long days lately but as I constantly remind myself, he's not traveling anymore so it's all good. Fin is working his way through the stack of workbooks that have taken up residence on our kitchen table. I swear I never thought a kid would get THAT excited over mazes and cutting pages! But he's smart as a whip, that one. Dash has *finally* mastered the art of potty usage. Thank Jebus. But seriously, I'm beyond proud and at the same time completely floored that he just decided he was done with diapers and justlikethat started wearing undies. We've had a few accidents but none major and all more upsetting to the trainee than the mommy so that's a win. And although I was uber nervous about it, I gave in to his insistence that he wear undies to sleep out the gate and he has just done beautifully. Potty use, counting, learning his letters, and yet Dash STILL cannot grasp the colors. He knows blue and pink and purple but green, red, orange, and yellow are always wrong. I even gave him a child test for colorblindness which he passed with flying colors. I'm trying not to worry about it, one thing at a time. Kell is a movin and a shakin all over the place. It took the third, but I have finally broken down and had to use a baby gate as it seems like his largest goal in life is to careen head-first down the stairs. He's pulling up on anything he can get his hands on too but still not a steady stander yet. He babbles all day, loudly, and yet still has no teeth?!? The Dr. told me that they don't worry about that till the kiddos hit two. I hope it doesn't come to that. We're also working on the weaning - the main hurdle being that he HATES milk. I left him unattended with Monika for few minutes today and she was all too eager to show him the beauty of chocolate milk. So I guess the good news is that I can get him to drink the stuff, it just has to be chocolate. Stinker.
I'm still trying to get my butt in running shape. Registration for the half-marathon opened this past week (I know, right, it's in November! Why are you stressing me out already?!?). I haven't officially signed up yet. I need to be able to run 4 miles easily and get my long runs over 6 to feel like I could really do it. It just seems soooo far...But I don't think I could forgive myself if I don't do it, so I guess I should just buck-up and sign up already. I've also been trying to get the fam out and about more this summer - to the beach, the pool, the zoo, the grove - and so far so good. Not to be gushy, but I really am so blessed to have that husband who rolls over and just asks what I want to do each day. Well, each weekend day. And that's after grumbling about whichever kid refused to go to bed/got up to use the bathroom/lost a pacifier etc. It's not all sunshine around here people!
I promise a more interesting entry soon. Like how I would have smacked that Farrah on Teen Mom if she were my daughter too (I mean seriously, what an ungrateful little ho!) Or perhaps an open discourse on whether or not my plan of finding someone to pose as the mythical Miss Crabapple (the evil, child-hating, wooden paddle-wielding babysitter) to frighten the snot out of my kids could cause possible therapy demanding damage. I say no. Discuss...
Saturday, July 10, 2010
Face Your Pockets
This week, my Photojojo newsletter sent me to this site: Face Your Pockets. The basic idea is that you take everything out of your pockets/purse, toss them on the scanner and then smash your face in and scan. How can you not want to try it yourself! Brooks and I had to play. We sent our entries in, but here they are :)
Brooks':
Mine:
And of course we had to scan Kell's hiney since he was the only one awake:
What's in your pockets?
Brooks':
Mine:
And of course we had to scan Kell's hiney since he was the only one awake:
What's in your pockets?
Saturday, July 03, 2010
The Big Backyard Makeover
We have lived in our house 8 years this October. When we first moved in, the backyard was ok and we even did some planting. Then we adopted a dog. And she was NOT good for the yard. And then over the years, sprinklers failed, grass died and the yard just wasn't a priority. We have redone EVERY room in the house. Some rooms, like the nursery and the office, we have even redone twice. But the yard continued to be neglected. We had beautiful plantation shutters installed all over the first floor, but have never left them open. I mean really, would you want to look out at this?
Or this?
In all fairness, those pictures were taken after the landscapers treated the yard to make sure all the weeds were dead. Before that it was somewhat green. I even thought some of it was grass. Um, yeah, it turns out that none of it was grass. Whoops! Needless to say, we'd had enough. So we earmarked our tax refund this year to get it taken care of. I know you're probably thinking, "Hey, it's a small yard, why not do it yourself?" Well, the short answer is because we don't have time or desire. The longer answer involves a total overhaul of all the sprinklers, regrading and most importantly having a clue of what grows in what areas. So we hired a reputable company. And then we got sticker shock and thought about putting it off. Again. But let me tell you, we have ZERO buyers remorse!
I love these plants. No idea what they're called, but truly I dig them! I had half a mind to ask for them, but back to my earlier point, I have no idea what will grow where...
Happy hibiscus...
We have a few of these pretty two-tone rose trees. Who even knew that two colors would grow on one tree?? Not me...
little purple flowers...
little red flowers...
more purple...
some pink...
larger view...
new long planter...
And a play area for the kids! I'm SO glad I went with this! It's all gravel so that they can play in the water table with no fear of mud. And the house rests nicely on it and I don't have to worry about it killing any grass.
And all done! We moved the table over and bought a new conversation set. It's so comfortable!
It feels like a little piece of vacation. Feel free to stop by for a cold one! :)
Or this?
In all fairness, those pictures were taken after the landscapers treated the yard to make sure all the weeds were dead. Before that it was somewhat green. I even thought some of it was grass. Um, yeah, it turns out that none of it was grass. Whoops! Needless to say, we'd had enough. So we earmarked our tax refund this year to get it taken care of. I know you're probably thinking, "Hey, it's a small yard, why not do it yourself?" Well, the short answer is because we don't have time or desire. The longer answer involves a total overhaul of all the sprinklers, regrading and most importantly having a clue of what grows in what areas. So we hired a reputable company. And then we got sticker shock and thought about putting it off. Again. But let me tell you, we have ZERO buyers remorse!
I love these plants. No idea what they're called, but truly I dig them! I had half a mind to ask for them, but back to my earlier point, I have no idea what will grow where...
Happy hibiscus...
We have a few of these pretty two-tone rose trees. Who even knew that two colors would grow on one tree?? Not me...
little purple flowers...
little red flowers...
more purple...
some pink...
larger view...
new long planter...
And a play area for the kids! I'm SO glad I went with this! It's all gravel so that they can play in the water table with no fear of mud. And the house rests nicely on it and I don't have to worry about it killing any grass.
And all done! We moved the table over and bought a new conversation set. It's so comfortable!
It feels like a little piece of vacation. Feel free to stop by for a cold one! :)
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