X marks the spot

We went to Wonderland playground today with your buddy Nate. Sun shining, blue skies, and big fluffy white clouds. Long overdue. You were so excited for the slides! Mommy was so excited for warm weather and outdoor fun! It was Bug's first adventure on the playground. He loved, loved, loved the swings...giggled the whole time.

But you, Monkey, took my breath away and made my heart skip a beat. How did you get so big over the winter? You didn't need my help this time. I didn't have to climb up and follow you through the maze of wooden fun. You climbed up the tall steps without a hitch. You scrambled up the tire ramp without such precision and balance. You even made it up the checkerboard ladder without my help! You ran over to the tic-tac-toe board and pointed at the "x" saying "letter x marks the spot Mama"! I was so proud of you, yet my heart was a bit sad. You are turning into a big boy so fast. I'm ready but I'm so not ready!

As much as I wasn't ready for the reality check today, it was so fun to watch you run and explore on your own. To hear you yell "watch me Mama" as you ran across the drawbridge without a hitch and dove down the twisty slide. Proving why I call you Monkey. Can't wait to take your Daddy to the playground and show him what you've been up to. Thanks for the fun day little man!
Love,
Your Mama

Brothers

6~7~8~almost 9

My sweetest Bug~

You're Mommy is so sorry she has neglected your month stories. Not that I have completely neglected....they are written in my head but can't get them written down. Then it's overwhelming to me when I get sooo far behind. So here goes!

You are the sweetest, most patient, squishable baby ever! I. Am. Head. Over. Heels. In. Love. With. You. It is incredible! My heart jumps a beat just thinking about that love. God knew what he was doing when he gave you to us. You are the glue that makes this family stick. You are the sweet smile that we need on rough days. You are the patient one who just watches as your brother runs amok through the house. Usually grabbing your toy or inadvertently tackling you as he whizzes by. He is your hero though! Even though he hasn't been the kindest or most gentle with you lately. I was chopped liver the other morning when you woke up. Barely a snuggle for Mommy bc you were so busy trying to figure out where your big brother was at. As soon as you located him, the smile that spread across those pudgy cheeks was one of adoration and utter love. I promise he is going to want to include you and share with you sooner than later (or I hope!!). You would much rather play with his "big boy" toys than all the "little boy" toys. I get it. Really I do. He will someday too.You have gone from sitting to scootching to creeping to crawling to pulling up and sitting back down in what has seemed like only a month. Unbelievable! And motor. Boy can you motor somewhere quickly when you want to. Your new favorite hang out is the train table. Getting in the drawer and chewing on a tree or banging a light post for all to hear. Why do I have a feeling it's not going to be long before you are running after your big brother? I can wait for it Bug. I'm not ready for you to be that big yet.

You finally got your second tooth last night. It hasn't slowed you down in the food process though. You want the "big people" food. We gave you a taste and you ran with it. Baby food. Huh...that's for the birds you say (or all over the front of mommy's shirt as you spit it at me). Your favorites are waffles, peas, cheerios, strawberries, cheese, turkey, and pasta. You even had steak the other night and gobbled it down like a pro.
The bottle though. Not your favorite. Kills me to have to give it to you. Especially with that smelly formula in it but Mommy is losing her milk baby (topic for another post). Will keep trying though. It's all we can do right now.

Socks. Yep, those are for the birds too! Thank goodness spring is here bc we can't keep socks on your feet. Secretly, that's ok with me, bc then i get to kiss and nibble on those chubby feet more often. They don't get any cuter than yours.

You love to be outside. And think you are pretty big stuff riding in the car. Even cooler when you figured out how to stand up in it the other day. You could sit in the grass for ours and just watch everything going on around you. So content. That's always been my Bug.

Everywhere we go, you have a smile to share and a squeal to add. You brighten up every room that you enter. Your eyes tell it all. So expressive. Truly the windows to your beautiful soul. Sweetness just pours out of you!

Love you to the moon and back sweet boy!

Your Mommy

She's Mine

I paid off the loan on my car yesterday! She's mine. All mine. All 110, 000 miles. She has always been a female but I never officially gave her a name. She's just my Jetta. I think the name speaks for itself. Let's just say she is my mechanical baby. I love my car. Maybe it's because she's always been mine and only mine. I got her brand spankin' new and have treated her with tender loving care from the get go. It will be a sad day when I have to move up to something bigger to accommodate my family. Right now, she works. It's a bit cozy with all four of us in there but I like it.

I learned how to drive a 5-speed with her. She's seen me through marriage, our first house, two dogs, and two little boys! Here's to you little car! Thanks for always being dependable!!

Whole Lot of Random

• I'm addicted to fountain soda! I love that little bite you get from it. Particularly Coke or Dr. Pepper....Mmmmm....makes my mouth water just thinking about it.


• Speaking of addictions....can you say Reese's peanut butter cups. OMG! It's ridiculous how much I love these things. The crazy part of this is that I never really cared for them until I was pregnant with Bug. It started halfway through my pregnancy and has continued. I used to go for the Rolos or Kit Kat. Not now, bring on that bright orange package with the peanut butter/chocolate goodness. And Easter was a Reese's dream come true....little mini pastel wrapped cups, mini peanut butter eggs, large Reese's eggs....yummy.


• I'm itching to paint really bad. It's the change of the seasons. Does it to me every time. Hubs would be okay with every wall in the house being white. So it's been a SLOW transition to paint this house. But I'm ready to tackle the living room. I'm thinking a nice warm taupey color with an orangey/brown accent wall.....now I just have to find the time without two little boys to "help" me paint......


• Everything in our house seems to somehow turn into a puck. I looked down the other day and Monkey was playing hockey with my little speckled wooden eggs that were on the entry way table. Not exactly what I had in mind for them. He has used the tires off his John Deere tractors, the wooden parts to his puzzle train, "Little People", plastic Easter eggs, Zeba, and of course every ball we own....sometimes the actual puck gets used. The goal usually gets a tour of the house daily. Sometime it gets used to take a "nap" in or to carry his animals around in.

• Today I was the Poop Princess. I changed nine poopy diapers...5 toddler and 4 baby. Yuck, yuck, and double yuck. Some days I feel like all I do is go from one nap to the other changing diapers, feeding kids, nursing, putting out temper tantrums, and yearning for a pedicure chair. Then Monkey erupts into one of his contagious giggles, and Bug gives me his huge slobbery grin. And I melt. So put a tiara on me.


• I don't know what happened to my bullets...


• I wish I would follow my own advice sometimes. I've said since Monkey was 5 months old that I was going to start going to Stroller Strides. Not necessarily for the strides part of it but more for the social part of it. The girlfriend part of it. Not that I don't have any. I do. Wonderful girlfriends. But it would be nice to have one or two girlfriends that I can just call at 9 in the morning and say let's play. I don't have that flexibility bc my girlfriends work or live in Anchorage (and we can't do that drive on a moment's notice). Just have always thought it would be a way to find that connection. Maybe not. But I've never tried either. Always found some excuse not to go...middle of naptime....summer time and too busy....now i'm pregnant again....now its middle of naptime again....do you see my issue?


• I miss my bff. Tough times make the miles between us seem even longer. I'm just so thankful she has fabulous, supportive family and friends there to help her. People who drop it at a moments notice to do whatever it takes to make it happen for her. It's been harder than all get out to sit up here knowing how she is feeling and what she is needing and not being able to do much about it. Sometimes the phone just doesn't seem like enough.


• I need some new dinner recipes. I get like this every 3-4 months. Just get bored with what we've been having and look for something else. I have a pretty picky Hubs though. He makes it tough for a girl sometimes. No cooked veggies except corn....crazy...yes it's true....okay maybe onions diced really small and a few green peppers here and there. He is getting more adventurous though....
• Hubs gave me a piece of his gum tonight. Normally I would have declined bc he likes the green apple kind, and I only like green apple when it's on a stick and smothered in gooey caramel. But this time he offered me Wrigley's Doublemint. I was quickly whisked back to my childhood. Mom always had gum in her purse when we were growing up. And it was always Doublemint. She always chewed half a stick though bc she said she couldn't talk and chew a full stick. I could instantly see the pack of gum in her purse with a half a stick torn off. The smell to this day always reminds me of her. Kinda like the smell of Hubba Bubba gum reminds me of Dad....do they even still make Hubba Bubba? Makes my mouth water just thinking about it.
• Summer can come any day now. I'm tired of being cold. The sunshine is warm on our faces but the walk to the mailbox is still brisk and requires a blanket. I'm ready for a nice spring rain to make the grass and leaves pop out. To wash away the dirt and sand. To test out the new raincoat and Thomas umbrella. I'm ready to swing and slide without cold hands after 20 minutes. I'm ready for buckets and shovels. I'm ready to try a small garden with Monkey and plant my flower baskets. I'm ready for doggy baths in the lake. I'm ready for sticky popsicle kisses. I'm ready to use the sunroof all the way open not just popped up. I'm ready! Any time soon would be super!!

Old Man

Dear Old Man Winter~

Maybe that's why you chose to dump 2 inches of the white stuff on us last night while we were sleeping....because we call you "old man". I'll call you whatever you want (you don't want to know what I called you this morning when I woke up and saw what you do ever so sneaky in the middle of the night) if you'll let your girlyfriend, Mother Nature, take over and bring the green stuff. You've been quite busy all winter. Isn't it time for a break? Let the woman take over. We're ready for all her sparkle (rain to wash the dust and yuck away), shine (sunshine to make the green stuff grow), and love (pretty flowers to brighten our day). What ya say? Is it a deal? Pretty please!

Fondly,
Desperate for summer in AK



PS. This is the temperature it was on the deck last week when I was playing with doggies. Do you remember? It felt wonderful! Almost Mauilicious without the sound of the waves.

Snow Baby

Couldn't resist sharing a little bit of sweet snow baby fun!

I later figured out that he was "scared"of my stocking hat. Hence, the reason I couldn't get that fantastic smile of his to make an appearance. Still my sweet Bug!