Oh, that's cute!

On Being Brothers

2012-01-11T09:04:00.000-08:00

Oh boys.

Is it just me, or does anyone else think it is really odd how different siblings can be?

This is not a new subject for me. No, it is a constant mystery to confound me. How can two boys, raised in the same house by the same parents, loved and treated in the same way, turn out so very different?

I say turn out, but let's be honest. As surely as Henry did come into this world a shy and observant young chap, Wyatt did certainly come flying out with a boisterous and uninhibited personality. They were who they were from the get-go.

It is also quite interesting (entertaining?) that one child's personality is very much like Jim and the other is VERY MUCH his mother. I'm not saying who takes after who.

What? I was totally quiet and shy once...ish.

..........

In any case, as polar opposite as they may be, there is no hindrance of love between them.

Henry may not always understand why his brother is perfectly happy doing is own thang (oh yeah, that is not a typo), but he is almost always willing to change what he is doing to play with Wyatt. He loves to teach Wyatt things, to make him belly laugh and do silly things like march the Happy Dance.

And although they are very, very different, they are also very, very alike.

See? Crazies.

As God did match the differences between Jim and me in a crazy yet perfect way, our boys are matched and balanced the same. Wyatt is risky; Henry is careful. Henry is shy; Wyatt yells at strangers. Henry will eat anything you give him, or at least try new foods; Wyatt will not try anything new unless you say it is a hot dog. Henry is obedient and compliant; Wyatt is challenging. Wyatt is bold as all get out; Henry is timid and often unsure.

Despite all this, they are the greatest of buddies and a perfect compliment to each other. I can't wait to see how much they love each other when they are teenagers.

*cough*

Together, they are crazy and loud and silly and sweet. Little bro wants to be just like big bro.

And sometimes, when I am cleaning out a closet, Wyatt will find some of Henry's old things and want to put them on, which makes Henry very upset because he cannot also wear his Dutch Boy Halloween costume from when he was two and be just like Wyatt.

Because who doesn't want to look like a choir boy in a Star Wars shirt?

Which is what made me write this post in the first place.

Oh boys.

We Wish You A Merry Christmas!

2012-01-05T20:07:00.000-08:00

Please...join me as I relive the tale of Marr Christmas 2012.

'Twas the night before Christmas... Or a few nights before anyhow, when Henry and Wyatt got to open their first gift of the season. It was from my parents and marked with "Open BEFORE Christmas!" The boys had no qualms with that whatsoever, however, there were some hurt feelings (aka whining) the next evening when there weren't more presents to open. Mwahahaha!

Anyways, my parents did one of those record-a-books so the boys could hear Grandma and Grandpa Johnson read to them. Pretty cool, especially since we don't get to see them often at all! Here's a glimpse of their first viewing:

Funny stuff. And if you're wondering, Wyatt was a little afraid of the picture of Santa Claus putting a present under the tree. I mean, come on. That is scary stuff. Also, if you're wondering, yes. We have listened to this book approximately 287 times. Thanks for asking!

On to the next night when Grandma and Grandpa Marr arrived! Hurray! We had heard of nothing else for days. When is Friday? When is Christmas Eve Eve? When will Grandma and Grandpa be here? Is it Friday yet?

Here is Wyatt in his Christmas Eve Eve pajamas, also lovingly known as Henry's old Christmas PJ's. Does someone know he's cute or what? Honestly, this child.

Fast forward one day. One of Jim's favorite traditions growing up was having egg rolls on New Years Eve. Meaning, his mom and dad stood by a deep fryer for an hour making LOADS of egg rolls for him to devour. Lucky for him, his mother still really loves him and brought some of her kitchen with her for what was a busy but fun (and yummy) Christmas Eve. We all went to our church's Christmas Eve service at 4:00 and then rushed home to begin working on dinner. Or, watching Grandma and Grandpa make dinner.

Wyatt was excited but he didn't really know why.

Henry and Wyatt opened another "Before Christmas" gift from my parents, which was a plate and mug for Santa's snacks. Henry loved this, and spent lots and lots of time thinking about which cookies and treats would make it on the plate. Once he made his choices, we made a huge to-do about it and placed the treats and some water (because Santa might get a tummy ache from more milk) by the tree. I might have dramatically presented the treats before Jim with much exuberance (you know, 'cause he's got to eat them and make the perfect crumbs) as he lay on the couch unable to move due to egg roll overkill. (They're delicious, I tell you. I know this from my previous life with gluten.)

Then all of a sudden, it was Christmas morning! I got up a little early to put breakfast in the oven and get ready a bit before the boys woke up around 7, like normal. 7:00 rolls around...still sleeping...7:15...are you kidding me? So we woke them up. Come on now! It's Christmas! Wake up!

Speaking of waking up on Christmas, did you know that my parents would wake us up at 5:00 AM? I am not kidding. Year after year of Grumpy One and Grumpy Two (that's me and my brother) and they still thought it was a good idea to do this. It was one of the few times that my brother and I were on the same team. Team Our Parents Have Problems. Love you guys! To make matters even more awesome (not!), our baby sister was born when I was 16 (the pinnacle of my grumpiness) and from day one she was the epitome of Christmas joy at the 5 AM wake up call. WHATEVER, JACI!

Did I also mention that one year, after I was married, we were with my family on Christmas and my adorable little sister was yammering on a mile a minute about how she had SO many more presents than everyone else (at 5 AM, may I remind you), while the rest of us sat and rolled our eyes at the ridiculousness of this preposterous 7 year old...and then my parents' ginormous tree fell on top of her? HAHAHA! My brother caught it before it crushed her, and I kinda got in trouble for laughing so hard even though I was a grown adult, but it was still awesome.

And yes, I really, truly love my little sister. But she's still ridiculous! And if you say it runs in the family, I will throw a tree on you!

Whoa. Major tangent there. Moving on!

And now we bring you the latest episode of Awkward Brother Photos:

I thought Henry did a great job being cute, but Wyatt could not take his eyes off the Ghost of Christmas future! Yeesh! Though...I wonder...

Here's the party animals of the group, ready to begin:

We started by reading from Luke 2 which Henry listened so intently to. He had heard the Christmas story so much in Sunday School and Awana and us talking about it that month that he was very interested to hear it from Daddy's Bible. In typical Wyatt fashion, our littlest goober cozied up to listen to a good book. Little did he know it was THE Good Book. I know. Wow, Steph.

It may seem like it's just a tradition, but I love bringing the focus first and foremost to Jesus. That even though the excitement over presents and toys and decorations and lights is okay, we are celebrating the birth of our KING. When our children come to that understanding, it is so special. Christmas with Henry this year was just simply awesome.

...

I feel like it's kind of difficult to segue from that to this. So...PEANUT BUTTER! Now your mind's all muddled.

This is Wyatt opening a gift that Henry picked out for him. It's really something else to see your children grow in so many different ways, including the desire to please those you love. Henry was so excited for Wyatt to open it because he knows how much Wyatt loves playing with cars. Cute.

Oh, my first babe. Such a ham. So excited. The best part is, he was just as excited to see what other people received as he was for himself. He was constantly reminding people, "It's your turn! See what you got!" Also cute.

This next picture is great, because it is pretty much what it looks like whenever Grandma Marr is here. Wyatt knows she will happily cuddle up and read, read, read. If you read my previous post, you would understand the magnitude of this gift. Luckily for both of them, he got a couple new books, so she got to read them over and over and over...

That is where our Christmas pictures end. We were enjoying the day so much that we forgot to pick the camera back up! And what a day. So fun, so full, so family. <--does that belong in a sermon, or what?

I even made a Christmas ham! I don't know about you, but that makes me feel like a graduate of Christmas School.

You might think this overlong post should end now.

But it does not!

Henry was super excited about New Years, so he decorated:

Love that boy.

Also, we are not ready to let go of Christmas just yet. This little one has sang this song at least 10 times a day, every day since Christmas:

...which is okay with me.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

I'll beat you to the top of the coconut tree!

2012-01-03T20:27:00.000-08:00

One of Wyatt's favorite past times is reading books. Wait...no. Listening to someone else read him books. Yes, that sounds more like it. However, since no one has every moment of every day available to devote to reading books to him (unless Grandma is here!), he likes to carry them around the house and read them loudly to himself. Almost daily, we are woken up around 7 am to the sounds of said loud reader or to the sound of him chucking finished books to the other side of his room. Often, as Jim and I are still half-slumbering in our bed, we are brought to giggles at the sound of Wyatt laughing over whatever his book just told him. He's a nut.

Anyhow, this video doesn't really show any of that, but it is a clip of something that I literally see daily. This is Wyatt, reading his very favorite book, Chicka Chicka Boom Boom. Props to Aunt Becky! Thanks for buying this for Henry on his 2nd Christmas. Wyatt loooooves it somethin' fierce. As in he recites it to himself all day.

This video was taken at the very beginning of December, so I assure you that he doesn't skip from page 3 to the last page anymore. He has been practicing. A lot. Loudly.

S to the NOW

2011-12-30T12:55:00.000-08:00

That's SNOW, in case you were wondering.

It's been awhile. Don't hate! December is nuts! But in a very fun way. For now, I will take you back to November, right after Thanksgiving, when we decided to take a trip to play in the snow. Wyatt's very first snow day! I mean, it kinda snowed here last year, but not enough to really enjoy and besides...he was only one and he was grumpy about the cold.

Anyhow, Henry was over-the-top excited to show his bro the awesomeness of a winter wonderland. First, however, we needed some before pics.

Honestly, we love them!

If I look tired in this picture, it is due to the fact that this is the last picture in a series of no-one-is-looking-at-the-camera-when-we-tell-them-to. Oh well. At least they were excited!

To the snow!

Here is Jim showing Wyatt the ropes of snowman building:

One child is not so sure of the cold,

one child is ecstatic.

Here is Wyatt's very first snowball!

Guess who Daddy told him to hit???

Hmph. I suppose his utter joy was worth it. :)

Did I mention that Henry L.O.V.E.S. the snow? And also that he loves wearing one of my hats? It fits well, no?

This is toward the end of our snowplay. Most of us were having a great time still.

I kid. Wyatt loved the snow! He just appears slightly worried in the pictures.

And, AND! I remembered to get a good picture of Jim with the boys. A rarity. My remembering, that is. Anyhow, Henry is too GQ for you and Wyatt is still slightly worried, but a cute pic nonetheless.

And because I know you are dying for videos, here is son1 and son2 on their first sledding adventure together:

One last video. Pretty sure if it snowed year-round, Henry would be in heaven.

This concludes one of what I hope will be many catch up and future posts. Please note: HOPE.

Halloween in the Hizzouse!

2011-11-03T20:24:00.000-07:00

How do you make a crazy holiday like Halloween even crazier? You decide the day before to invite all your friends over to trick or treat!

The night started out with Obi Wan, Obi Wan, Obi Wan and Yoda. Yoda is in awe of the general Forciness of Obi Wani. <--get it? I know. I should totally do stand-up.

It didn't take long before Yoda realized the Wans' were talking things way too seriously...

But how can you deny that the Force is strong with them?

"Ready for candy, I am."

More Jedi...

More...

And here, you may bask in the glory of our spectacular pumpkin:

Henry designed our pumpkin and I performed the surgery. Why so sad, you ask?

Well...

Why, because Jedi always win!

As soon as darkness fell, our friends began arriving! There was much rejoicing.

Also, general goofiness.

Aren't they all so cute? At this point, we were waiting on Henry, who was finding his THIRD trick or treat container of the night. Because he broke his first bucket and then ripped the back-up bag. Before we even started.

There are not many things much cuter than kiddos in their costumes, however, something else grabs my eye in this next pic. Guess what.

You're welcome!

And here is Nate, trying to use the Force on my camera so we can begin the candy hunt!

Just because...

I know. They are SO cute. I mean, how could you not love this little Princess Puppy?

Here is an example of what it looked like when we arrived at any given door:

Let's just say that some of the homeowners had a slight look of shock when they opened the door. Likely they were experiencing panic at the possibility of not having enough candy.

Here is the sweetest Cinderella I ever did see:

(also please note the attention Wyatt - aka Yoda - is paying to that flower pot thing in the background)

Kids have received their candy and walked off and he's...

Well, that was weird. Luckily, he snapped out of it and yelled "TREAT!" at the nice man. I think the most fun part for Wyatt was talking about the great candy he just received at one house until we arrived at the next house. Especially that one house that gave my two year old a full size bag of M&M's.

It was at this point that Jim and I switched duties (haha...doodies) and I manned the house to pass out candy. Jim left the camera I handed him on the coffee table.

Sigh.

So I picked it back up when everyone arrived and promptly dumped out their spoils to enjoy the general splendor and choose their One Treat. Some got a little protective, and rightly so, I say.

Of all the candy (Butterfingers! 100 Grand! Banana Laffy Taffy! What?) he received, Henry wanted his One Treat to be...chocolate covered pretzels:

At first, I was confused by this, but then I realized that my son is a genius. There were like 7 or 8 pretzels in there!

Here is Wyatt opening his SECOND tootsie roll. There are no more photos of him after this because, well, I like people to imagine he is super-cute and pleasant all the time. Even after he gets his candy taken away.

Disney cuties:

Abby's hair was the greatest!

Nina helped Princess Puppy open her One Treat,

Aaaand...

Win!

Someone's been a busy little bee:

Can you spot the minor display of sugar/being with friends/general Halloween coma?

SO many funny things about this picture! HA!

To sum it up, it wasn't just crazy...it was CRAZY FUN! Adding people you love into the mix of an already good time just makes it awesome. The kids had a blast and the memories that were made are priceless. The first thing Henry said as he crawled into bed that night was, "How many more days till we get to do that again?" Even Wyatt rambled on and on about the fun as he went through his bedtime routine. His best memories were "Candy!" and "Nina held my hand!" Priceless.

And now, I leave you with what true joy of a time well had looks like:

And to all, a good night!

How My Flatiron Ruined My Life

2011-10-28T18:01:00.000-07:00

Do you ever have those moments when you realize you've been saying something for a really long time that is completely untrue? Only, you kind of forgot that it wasn't true?

Recently, I was having a conversation with some of my ~~life-support~~ mommy friends about hair. About how, even with the best intentions and perhaps even a special event to attend, my hair always ends up in a messy bun at the back of my head. At some point, I stated that a quick flip with the rubber band is just loads easier than pulling out the flatiron. Not to mention that my children care more about how fast I can get their food on the table than what my hair looks like. Someone exclaimed, "But I thought your hair was perfectly straight?!" To which I replied with something like, "No way, man. It's like half kinky, half wavy. It's always been such a pain. Without the flatiron, I'd look like an amazon woman!"

Later, as I was brushing my teeth, I was also staring at my hair, which I had just pulled out of its 15 hour bun. Pretty stuff. Anyhow, I was thinking about a picture I have of me and my friend in high school and I realized I was a liar!

Lie #1: It's always been such a pain.
Lie #2: Without the flatiron, I'd look like an amazon woman!

When I was a baby all the way through about sixth grade, I took a bath at night and slept on wet hair. And my hair was straight and soft and manageable. After that, I started taking showers in the morning, usually blow drying what portion of my head was still wet before I ran for the bus or my ride to school. And my hair was straight and soft and manageable. In college, I usually showered at night to avoid the morning bathroom craze and if I was feeling groovy, I might use a fat curling iron to spice up the ends of my long hair. The rest was straight and soft and manageable.

We interrupt this post to admit there were a couple poodle perms in there somewhere, in which case my hair was NOT straight, but scrunched to crisp perfection. It 'twas the late 80's/early 90's after all.

Back to my lament.

So I'm standing there in my current-day bathroom thinking to myself, "Huh. I used to have straight hair." And then I am wondering, very confused-like, when my hair became unstraight. You might guess that it was when I became pregnant or had a baby, since a lot of us know what those demons we call "hormones" can do to every last inch of our bodies. But no...you would be wrong.

I had straight hair until Fall of 2002. I was 24 years old. I had a newish job and a girl I worked with had what seemed to be thinner, totally sleek hair. I complimented her on her runway looking hair and she said to me, "Oh, thanks. It's because I use a flatiron every day. It helps it stay super-smooth all day."

I had no idea what she was talking about, but probably something like the next day I owned one. The very first day I used it, I got complimented on my hair by several people in the office. So then I straightened my straight hair. Every day. For many, many, many days. Since I had an office job, my hair had to look nice from Monday to Friday and then of course I had to look nice for Jesus on Sundays. I can't really remember that long ago, but I'm assuming that I probably wore a perfectly parted ponytail on Saturdays, all sleeked back thanks to the ironing I had performed on my hair the day before. There were a few times, I showered and left my hair wet (only on a Saturday, of course) and **shock** there was a bit of wave to it. So I put some mousse in it and scrunched it up!

Of course, then I kind of looked like I tried to perform an at-home perm my myself and forgot to attend to half my hair. Anyhow, suddenly, my hair was weird. It wasn't straight, but it wasn't curly. It was kind of a hybrid. And not like the efficient car. More like those crazy monster-hybrids you hear about on shows like the Vampire Diaries. So I continued to flatiron my hair.

This practice went on religiously for almost four years. Then I had a baby. And if you are a new mom and have time to shower AND flatiron your hair, then either YOUR mom lives with you or you're rich and have a nanny. Pretty much, since mid-2006, I have lived with hair that is not straight, soft or manageable. It is kinky and frizzy and out of control.

I still occasionally iron my head for church on Sundays, and that is pretty much limited to Sundays where I'm standing on a stage in front of hundreds of people who might feel pity for me if I didn't spend half and hour making my hair look like it just IS that way. Yes, half an hour. 20 minutes if I'm in a hurry. I can't do anything at 50% (except clean the house or finish painting or okay maybe it's just about vanity in this case) so I iron my head in layers so each individual strand is perfectly straight.

Ugh. It doesn't even look friendly!

So. In conclusion, I hate my flatiron. It ruined my ability to let my hair air dry without looking like I walk around in a humidity bubble. I sentenced it to daily burnings for years and it won't let me forget it.

It showed me.

Also, did I just blog about a flatiron? Well...at least I blogged.

Hi, I'm Stephanie, and I'm the mother of a Kindergartner

2011-09-08T21:37:00.000-07:00

So. As (all five of you reading this) know, today was the BIG DAY. The day started off normal enough. The first realization I had this morning was that I made a good choice putting Henry in afternoon Kindergarten. He came down the stairs about 5 minutes after the morning bus left our neighborhood. At this point, I don't know how he is ever going to get enough sleep for 1st grade! But I'm getting ahead of myself. I'll think about that next week.

We had breakfast. We played Legos. I cleaned. The kids argued. Normal! Then it was 10:15, and I had to feed Henry something filling and nutritious to get him through the afternoon. I made Henry half a turkey and cheese sandwich with some grapes to eat before he left for the bus stop, knowing he would get a snack at school, but nothing else substantial until 2:30 when he was dropped off back home. It didn't really phase Henry. "Cool! A sandwich!" This is a kind of weird con of having afternoon class, but I'm telling myself it's only one year and he probably won't even notice the difference.

What DID get noticed was Henry getting to eat something. The wee one in the house wanted his lunch, too, but ended up settling for some good ol' goldfish. I'm hoping Wyatt gets the hang of things soon or I shall go crazy trying to explain to him why Henry is eating lunch and he is not.

Moving on. It is 10:40. Henry's bus comes at 10:54. I asked Henry to come over and sit with me for a minute so we could pray together. He was very happy about this and had a big smile on his face the whole time we prayed. Then we took a few pictures!

I know, I know. Cute.

And also, someone loves his brother!

Then we ran out the door to get to the bus stop in time! The bus stop is right in front of our house, so we made it without delay. I will sum up our bus stop experience with two words. Bright. Hot.

Then the bus came! It came to a stop and I turned to my right to talk Henry through the process when what to my wondering eyes did appear?? MY CHILD running up the bus steps with great cheer! I had to gather my jumbled thoughts quickly and yell out "Let me take a picture!" He gladly obliged, while a shorter family member tried to become a stowaway.

Henry sat down in the very first seat. He was the first Kinder to be picked up and all alone on the big bus but he sat down with confidence and a huge smile. Have I mentioned that he has been talking about riding the school bus since he was 2? The sweet bus driver lady shut the doors and Henry looked down at us and waved.

And that's when I started to cry.

My sweet, shy, timid child just skipped up the steps of his bus and waved goodbye on his way to big kid school.

I was dealing with bittersweet feelings of sadness and loss but the little brother was plain out angry. Here he is watching the big cheese wagon that stole his big brother away:

Since it was the first day, parents were invited to come to school and hang out for a bit. Henry knew I would see him there but he didn't know I'd be waiting as he got off the bus. Surprise!

Yeah...I still can't get over this whole school bus thing.

The principal met all the kids as they got off the bus and walked them to their class. There was something about watching all these little guys taking in their surroundings with huge eyes. Oh yeah. It was the fact that THEY ARE STILL BABIES!

Some nice helper lady welcomed Henry and helped him find his cubby.

Then his teacher came over and said hello! She seems really great.

Then the kids could either play with blocks or look at books on the carpet while we waited for everyone to arrive/get settled/etc. Unfortunately for Henry, the bus was a little late getting to school on the first day and clean-up time occurred approximately 30 seconds after he sat down with some blocks. His preschool teachers will appreciate what happened next. Tears. He's never been great at transitions, especially when he hasn't had enough time to complete what he's doing. But he did so good. He didn't make a loud noise, which is what we're all used to. He just looked at me and broke my heart as big ol' croc tears spilled out of his eyeballs and he said quietly, "But I didn't even get to do it." I gave him a squeeze and told him that he'd get another chance and that the teacher just wanted to get their new and exciting day started.

Usually, these moments last a loooong time, as Henry tries unsuccessfully to regain his composure. Today though, he pulled it together and found a seat near the back. The teacher took roll. When she called his name, he raised his hand:

...and then I left. I walked out the doors, but took a quick look back through the window before I took off. My baby looked back at me and with a little smile on his face, he waved.

And here is where I cried again. I waved back, blew him a kiss and made my way back to the parking lot. So many thoughts. So many memories. So many feelings! I am still trying to fathom how he's even old enough to be here. Beyond that, I am completely dumbfounded at his courage and confidence today. We have prayed and prayed about being brave and trying new things and remembering that God is always with us all the time, everywhere... It's like today, it just clicked. For whatever reason, he was just so excited about the whole thing, he just went for it.

Hi, I'm Stephanie, and I'm the proud, proud mother of a Kindergartner.

I shall not be a cliche

2011-09-07T16:07:00.000-07:00

It is just Kindergarten. It's school. He's 5. He's had two years of preschool. No biggie!

He's so excited so I will be, too! There will be no tears here. All smiles. :)

....
............
...................

Until he steps onto the SCHOOL BUS TOMORROW and I mourn the precious past five years of his life!

What the heck? Honestly, mothers of the past. You said, "Time flies" but you did not say, "One day, you push a baby out of your body and the next day, he goes to Kindergarten!" AH!

Oh, Henry. Remember how 5 minutes ago, you were learning to walk?

Remember how when you went to bed last night, you were my cutesy, chubby, dubby baby?

And then you woke up today and POOF! You're all tall and lean and handsome.

What.The.Heck.

Okay fine! I'm like everybody else because I cannot let go of the feeling that I'm leaving something behind. That today is the VERY LAST DAY with my little guy before he becomes a big school kid. All old and stuff. Kindergarten. Pfft.

SOB!

To be continued...

Look at me! I took pictures AND I blogged-ish!

2011-08-06T14:57:00.000-07:00

After a couple months of cool and rainy weather, Oregon finally remembered it was summer and graced us with a full week of warm, sunshiny days. The boys did a lot of sweating and a LOT of water play. Bring out the sprinklers!

Of course, I dusted off the camera (ahem) and thought it would be the perfect time to capture some awesome brother photos!

Why am I always so naive?

Why is it that when you ask a five year old (FIVE YEAR OLD?! Still getting used to that...) to smile, they hear, "Okay, now...show me face contortion!" ??

Then there are the rude interruptions, such as airplanes flying overhead:

Yes, in fact I did say, "Henry, smile in such a fanatical way that you don't even look like yourself!"

I've read in several different articles that the best pictures of kids are random, spontaneous, not planned. Do they mean, catch off guard? 'Cause I got pretty lucky with this one:

And then I might have shed a tear at the little boy who stole my baby away from me.

HOW IS HE FIVE YEARS OLD?!

On a hot day, one must go to all measures to stay cool:

Make sure you drink plenty of fluids:

And last, but not least, you must have fun!

Just remember to never-ever both look at the camera at the same time or if that accidentally happens, make sure that one of you is definitely NOT smiling. At least, not normally.

One of these days, my two-plus years worth of trying for that perfect "brothers" picture will come to fruition. Until then, I will be satisfied that I can at least capture how much fun they have together!

Happy Summer!

FIVE

2011-07-20T16:45:00.000-07:00

Five years ago today, you changed our lives forever.

We were Jim and Steph, married couple. We became Jim and Steph, parents of Henry.

My sweet boy, this seems like a huge age to me! Last night when I tucked you in before I went to bed, I was struck by the fact that it was the last night of your babydom. Today you entered into the world of Big Boys. It is hard for me to accept that you are a Big Kid now, when it seems like it was just yesterday that I was singing songs to you wrapped tight in swaddling blankets.

This year, I have loved seeing you learn and grow and experience life. You are a kind and loving big brother and you surprise me constantly with your care for Wyatt. Not to mention you have taught him all the main Star Wars characters and how to properly wield a light saber and he is only 2. Your love of Star Wars keeps me giggling and your love of turning anything long and thin into a light saber is always enjoyable to watch. You love your friends fiercely and want them with you at all times. I have been amazed at your ability to pick up a set of intricate Lego instructions and build a Star Wars ship all by yourself. At the same time, your mind dreams up so many different ships and shooters and castles and "guys" on its own, and I love to see that side of your imagination at work. Most of all, you are learning to control your emotions (finally!). Still a sensitive boy, I am so proud of you when you stumble and fall, yet pick yourself up, saying through gritted teeth, "I'm okay." You don't know what a hurdle that is that you've crossed. :) You walk into new situations with new people, still timid, but with a new bravery, and you walk out of them with new friends and good memories. I'm so proud of you!

My prayer for you this year as you walk into a new world of Elementary School and new teachers and friends is that you would always know that Jesus is with you. That when you're shy or scared or embarrassed or unsure, with all the new things that will happen, you will be sure of His presence and love for you. That you will never forget that He is always there to help you, to give you strength and courage. I pray that you will never doubt how deep our love runs for you and that we can assure you of that every single day. We are so thankful for you - for all the special and unique things you bring into our world. There is no one like you - not even close.

My sweet, sweet boy. How I love you! Happy 5th Birthday, Henry!

My Jedi Knight

2011-06-20T09:12:00.000-07:00

It's no joke. He takes this very seriously, as you can tell by the following pictures. Luckily for him, his friend had a costume party for her birthday so we had to make him a Jedi costume with a pillow case, a belt and some of my knee socks.

My Jedi:

We ended up actually making him Obi-Wan because of the color of available pillow cases I had. He dictated to me who wore what and that he could only be Obi-Wan in that color, of course. Mmkay. The only thing Henry said was missing from his Obi-Wan costume was a beard, but he didn't like the idea of my drawing on his face with make-up. So for the pictures sake, we had a little fun this morning:

To say the least, he had a blast at the party, and the little boys played Star Wars to their hearts content. There's not really much else to say, except,

May the Force be with you.

I'm TWO!

2011-06-03T12:53:00.000-07:00

Hurray!

Well, his birthday was last Monday (May 30th) but such is the life of any child after the first, I think.

To sum up his development, he is doing awesomely super and, as our pediatrician told me today, our kids have sure given us a good workout. What does he mean?

Wyatt - 2 yrs
37 1/2 pounds
36 inches long

And in case you were wondering,

Henry - at 2 yrs
43 pounds (zoinks!)
38 1/2 inches long

So yes, you can say that. However, I am wondering why my arms aren't super-buff. That doesn't seem fair.

Anyhow. Wyatt is a smart and healthy boy! Even though we have "behavioral issues," they are considered totally normal so instead of being frustrated at his continual desire to challenge his mother, I will PRAISE THE LORD for a happy and healthy (albeit crazy) child.

We sure love you, baby boy. You are a spunky one, that's for sure, but so was (is?) your mommy so I'll try to remember that. ;) You bring energy into any crowd and melt the heart of those who are lucky enough to cuddle with you. Thank you for your silly faces and never ending desire to make your family laugh. You are growing too fast, but I am enjoying hearing you speak in mostly understandable sentences. Though it is still funniest when you are babbling full speed about goodness knows what. I love that you have no personal space whatsoever and you must sit as absolutely close to your brother as possible. Like half sitting ON him. You are a funny, funny boy and I couldn't be more thankful for the joy God gave us in you.

Happy Birthday, Wyatt!

Mowa cookie, pease?

2011-05-27T14:39:00.000-07:00

That's what I hear all day.

You can't be a part of our family if you don't love our Monster Cookies!

FYI:
Mowa = more, for those of you who don't speak toddler.

Our Little Graduate

2011-05-26T13:33:00.000-07:00

How can explain how proud I am of this boy?

When he started preschool 2 years ago, he was a timid, shy little guy who didn't want to talk or take pictures or participate in class. While his personality still keeps Henry on the shy side, he has grown leaps and bounds in his confidence and ability to try new things. I couldn't have asked for a better school or better teachers to love and lead my little guy as he emerged from his cocoon.

I seriously thought that I would be unaffected by a preschool graduation. That was pretty dumb of me. My baby started preschool as a cute-as-a-button, rolly polly toddler and he is graduating as this happy, tall, handsome little boy. He has changed so, SO much and I am suddenly aware of the loss of his babyhood. I know there are many incredible moments and memories to come, but I think I might spend a little while wondering where the time went so fast.

It was nothing short of incredible to see Henry happily run up on stage when his name was called to receive his "diploma," knowing that not too long ago, he wouldn't have DARED do that in front of all those people! I could go on and on, but I'll just say that Henry...Daddy and I love you so much! You are a smart, funny, silly and creative little boy and we couldn't be prouder of you! Thank you for making our lives full just by being you. And for using the Force on me all the time.

And here are a few pics from the night:

Never serious for long...

aaaand...

we've lost all seriousness.

Wyatt was proud of his big brother, but wanted to get his hands on some cake!

(do you like my pirate face?)

What says Preschool Graduation better than a giant serving of sugar at 7:45 pm?

And one last pic...Henry and his teacher, Mrs. Nelson, as he left his very last day of preschool.
A treasure!

I am just so very thankful.

New Start

2011-05-18T13:23:00.000-07:00

I might have had a tear for the removal of sweet, baby Henry and his trees, but it was time to add Wyatt to the banner! I needed a simplified, clean look, so back to a Blogger template we go. It's refreshing, really. Hope everyone is having a great week. So far, I'm surprised I haven't gone completely grey, but hey - that's life!

(that's me attempting to laugh off the minute-to-minute trials our second born gives me every day)

This one, he doth confoundeth me

2011-05-14T09:34:00.000-07:00

Well, it is really lame that Blogger went down and erased everyones posts. EVERYTHING I typed is gone, but my videos were still loaded. LAME.

Anyhow, my post said something about Wyatt being a monster. Which he is. But he balances that out with being rather sweet and cuddly. And apparently he knows his letters and can kind of count, so when a stranger at the grocery store looks at me in horror as he screams full-blast and hits my arm, I can yell back at her, "IT'S OKAY BECAUSE HE'S SMART!"

Anyhow, enjoy!

A really long post about Legos

2011-04-19T20:42:00.000-07:00

I feel like I live in my own private Lego Land. In the past 6 months, Henry has become a Lego fiend. FIEND. What does that mean, you ask? It means that I have permanent Lego marks on the bottom of each foot.

While Henry is pretty good at keeping the Lego's in one general area, his little brother IS NOT. Sometimes Wyatt thinks it is fun to throw Legos or take them for rides in his truck or hide them in speakers. It's a special treat whenever Jim and I sit down to watch a movie and there is a little hum coming from the sub-woofer. And the best part is that neither Jim or I can do anything about it. We have to wait for Henry to stick his skinny arm inside and pull out whatever treasure Wyatt has placed inside.

Anyhow, I digress. Did you know how many clear legos they make these days? A lot. That is how many. Also, do you know how tiny legos can be these days? Very tiny. At first, I was like, wow! Cool! Look at all these awesome accessories! This would make the perfect headlight for a Lego car or the awesomest center of a flower!

I am pretty sure I have vacuumed up half of what hasn't gotten stuck between my toes.

So far, this doesn't seem like a very positive blog post. I will now change direction.

Legos are one of the awesomest things that has happened to our Henry! It's like he found his "thing." Mix Legos with Star Wars, and we are in Hea-ven. Every morning, he finishes his breakfast and walks straight to that box of teeny tiny parts and dumps it into a heaping pile.

This is when the magic begins. Though he stays pretty close to certain themes - Star Wars, shooters, spaceships - he is always excited to create new things. I love it. LOVE it. And he's so good at it! He has a mind for that kind of concentration and can even follow the directions on his own to build Lego creations. He might use his poor mother to look for all those ridiculously small parts, but he must be the one to put it together.

One of my biggest challenges these days is keeping Lego Darth Vader or Lego Obi-Wan out of "someones" little pockets when he goes to school or church. Henry is so proud of these little guys, he thinks that everyone is going to be just as excited about them and he MUST share them with the world. It is quite thoughtful, really.

A few weeks ago, I retrieved the mail and threw it on the counter. A few minutes later, Henry walked up, pulled a piece of mail out and said, "Mommy....what....is this?!" With a look of pure astonishment and unbelief, he held up this:

which became his favorite reading material. I am not even kidding you. He would lay on the ground on his tummy and just look and look and look at all the Legos. Then he would talk about them. And he would have to show us things. Then he would show us again an hour later because surely we didn't remember the awesomeness of it all. This catalog is so tattered now, I am tempted to toss it, but Henry has asked me to please tape and staple it back into place so he can continue to enjoy it.

Have I seriously just typed this much about Legos?

If you have a little boy (or girl, whatever) and you have experienced this:

...you know my joy. My little guy using his imagination and creating is just amazing. It also doesn't hurt that he enjoys doing something ON HIS OWN for a good length of time. Just sayin.'

Here are some more pics of our boy and his toys for our family's enjoyment:

The tongue plays a big part in his concentration...

TaDa! A shooter!

Truly, this has been an awesome addition to our daily routine; something fun that we all enjoy doing together and something that Henry enjoys doing on his own. It is really cool when your kids find something that they just love to do. Especially when that thing is not a video game. Woohoo!

Now if only I could create some kind of fence to quarantine the Legos to one area...or keep Mr. Sneaky Pants (aka Wyatt) from hiding them in various locations throughout the house. Like his diaper.

So okay. I realize that if Henry ever hears about Lego Land, we will probably need to figure out how to get there eventually. And I guess I'm okay with that. There is nothing like seeing pure excitement on the face of your children, and I cannot even imagine what that would be like upon entering such a place for Henry. Totally, totally worth it.

Jim?

Why I don't like to share

2011-04-01T07:36:00.000-07:00

I made the mistake of giving Wyatt a bite of my cereal once. Because I have Celiac's Disease, I am severely limited on cereal choices and I am pretty protective over what I can have. I am eternally grateful to the makers of Chex cereals, for having such a fabulous assortment of gluten free flavors. My very favorite is Cinnamon Chex and no, you may not have any.

Anyhow, back to Wyatt. You know, when your baby is all "Waah! Waaah!" in your face when you're just trying to enjoy your breakfast? And the only thing you can think of is that you just want a little peace and quiet while you eat? So I gave him a bite.

That was really dumb.

He now makes it his daily goal to break into my cereal boxes. The nerve. He never gets very far, because I am a tyrant when it comes to my cereal and he becomes very, very afraid of the cabinet where it is held.

Until this day:

He is sticking his hand in my box!

Do you see his determination? He is determined to disobey. The nerve. I thought the desecration that had been done to my box was enough so I put it on the counter, out of his reach.

On another note, guess who got taller?

Aaaaand round two.

At this point, I have decided that he is so much like me (MUST.GET.TREAT.) and this is funny. I will watch his struggle because it is futile. Muahahaha! Well, I will watch until it looks like he has punctured my precious. Oh yeah, I went there. Try not being able to eat 75% of the yummies in your own house!

Now, for those of you who would like to experience a piece of what gives me the constant giggles, please enjoy this next video:

"Mommy tells me to use my words but words don't make her give me what I want. SO I SCREAM!"

To the end of my story... I put the cereal away with a very firm "NO" directed at the cabinet door. I calmed him down. We watched some Calliou.

And then a while later, it was very quiet on the Wyatt front.

He found the open box.

After all that hard work, I decided to let him enjoy his spoils. After all, it was the Honey Nut Chex. Not my precious.

Some of you might be wondering why I don't just move the cereal. Well, you see, if I move it, it will end up in one of the upper cabinets. And then Jim will eat it. And I'll have to go all Gollum on him. I'd rather limit those experiences to those who might not remember them. I'm just sayin'.

New Art

2011-03-16T15:15:00.000-07:00

It was like, all of a sudden, he wasn't trying to eat crayons anymore. Yay! I love this new stage, where you can actively do something you enjoy with your child. Not that I don't love playing cars/dinosaurs/Mickey Mouse/will you please read this book to me for the millionth time today. Wyatt loves to color and I love it just as much as I loved coloring with Henry, because there is no end to what you can draw! I mean, I can make SO many different stick figures. And also, all I have to do is make a circle and he thinks I am the bomb.

The budding artist:

Look! He even holds it the right way!

It was all going so well. He was doing such a great job and as he changed colors and scribbled away I thought to myself, "This is it. He is of the creative sort. He will be an artist of some kind, I just know it!"

Wyatt, NO!

Artist, indeed.

New Stephanie, Meet Old Stephanie

2011-03-10T21:42:00.000-08:00

So I randomly decided to go back to the beginning of my blog and read a bit about life back then. I was surprised to find myself laughing. At myself! Or with myself? Actually, I'm not sure. But I remember feeling very challenged trying to come up with what to say in a blog post back then because my husband and his friend were so clever and funny in theirs. I realized two things right away in my review tonight: 1) I talked about poo a lot, and 2) Jim and Mike are lame-o blogger dropouts. Also I used to enjoy writing poems. Maybe I should pick that up again...

Here's one:

There's nothing on TV tonight

I'm all alone, but that's alright

I've got my laptop, tried and true

Sweet boredom fighter, I heart you

You help me check up on my friends

Upon your power, I depend

"Stalker" is a word some use

But that's not me, I just peruse

And now I'm done with this sweet poem

I've blogs and emails yet to roam.

Thank you, thank you everyone. I know I overwhelm you with my talent and profound thoughts.

Something else I realized in my review of myself is that I blogged about myself. Now I only ever blog about my children. And rightly so. They are my entire world at the moment. However, I feel inclined to challenge myself to venture out of my mommyness every now and then and blog about something other than my precious, adorable - oh my gosh, Wyatt colored on the walls - children.

I can do that, right? Type words with no pictures??? Hmm. Here is what I see me doing:

Stephanie sits down to blog. Stephanie blocks out the sound of her children not taking naps. Stephanie looks out the window for inspiration. Oh look! That neighbor finally took down their Christmas wreath! Jeez, it only took them 2 months! What was I doing? Oh yes, blog....mmmm....words...funny...look around...table...light...socket...kinda rhymes with chocolate. Hmm. I'm hungry. Did I eat lunch? Who was that person I was supposed to call? Crap! I forgot about the library books! Oh look! That other neighbor is leaving to work out. Man, she works out a lot. What was I doing? Oh yeah, I was going to eat.

See? See how hard this challenge will be?

Did you know that Jim and I used to enjoy doing jigsaw puzzles together? I miss that. Only it makes me feel really tired right now. I miss my old brain.

Just Because

2011-03-08T10:10:00.000-08:00

Brothers

Henry: 4 2/3
Wyatt: 1 3/4

Lots of love, lots of playing, lots of yelling.

Apparently, Henry is fond of the dinosaur.

Why life has gotten slightly more stressful

2011-03-07T15:32:00.000-08:00

Although this is a tiny, tiny example, I spend most of my days seeing something like this:

And then this:

Only, often the object from which he is catapulting is not so low to the ground.

On the plus side, my heart gets a good workout!

Happiest Place on Earth

2011-02-23T09:09:00.000-08:00

Well, I have finally arrived at my last batch of pictures from our trip to Orlando in NOVEMBER. Ha! Honestly though, I swear yesterday was Christmas.

Anyhow. We got to enjoy the Magic Kingdom with my mom AND my sister, which was an extra special treat. My parents let my sister skip (GASP!) school to experience the day with us (aka help with the small ones). I have to say, it is funny having a sister half your age. There were many times that I would turn to my mom and say, "I was NOT like that when I was her age." Of course, mom would just look at me and smile... Jaci is very much a 16 year old, but she is smart and has a good head on her shoulders AND she's my baby sister and I love her and the boys LOVED her. She definitely had way more energy than me! And she so (mostly) graciously played Lego Harry Potter with Henry for hours on end so he could learn the ins and outs of getting through the game - just in time for us to go home!

What was I saying? Oh yes. Magic Kingdom. Pictures!

Having grown up here, I never, ever, ever wait in line to see characters. But unfortunately, I saw Pluto, pointed him out to Henry, and oh pickles (that's really what I said, I promise) we were then waiting in the hot and humid line with a one year old who did not want to sit in the stroller and did not want to stand still in line with us for HALF AN HOUR. Ugh. Being the awesome mom I am though, we made it (having nothing to do with a Grandma or auntie, I'm sure) and got our picture. And look who is not even looking!

Then, making our way down Main Street, we ran into some ol' friends, the Dapper Dans:

And then it was already about lunchtime. Mom had made us special reservations for the character lunch at the Crystal Palace - a serious treat. The characters there were from the Hundred Acre Wood and both boys were excited. What was most fun for me was seeing how much more excited and not nervous Henry was to see all these giant animals. He really IS growing up!

Epitome of cuteness:

Right? You have got to know Henry to appreciate the awesomeness of this next pic:

Eeyore used to be my favorite Disney character...until I had to be him in costume in the Easter parade circa 1995. Do you see how big his head is? Did you know that Easter in Orlando is 98 and humid? In any case, he's still cute - especially with my children.

Then! Another *GASP!* moment! Tigger led a congo parade around the restaurant and guess who was FIRST IN LINE to join him??? MY HENRY! I know! Unbelievable! He might have made a face when some older kid got in front of him in line, but he still had fun.

Me and my own personal Goofy

I mean, honestly...isn't Tigger the best?! He was so funny with the boys.

See?

And then, WHAT?! Henry kissed Pooh. Who is this child?

Pooh got him back, though. :)

After a ginormous and delicious buffet lunch, we started on the rides! I didn't get many pictures of this due to strollers having to be parked and small children having to be carried in lines. Oy. Again...really...missing...big strong daddy...

Henry and I did the cars by ourselves because Wyatt fell asleep. Yes!

We caught the second half of a castle show. Something about love and magic. There was lots of smoke and fireworks so the kids thought it was rad, even though it was mostly a bunch of princesses they've never heard of.

Time to wait for the afternoon parade!

And one of my favorite pics to date. My kids sharing a $20 bucket of popcorn!

Can you see how HOT we all are? Do you see the sweat in my kids hair? Do you notice that my mother is still wearing long sleeves?

The second half of the day went by in a blur as we enjoyed many, many rides, many, many treats and a slightly stressful hot dog dinner. But then it was dark and they have brought back the old ElectroMagic Parade!!! Talk about reminiscent of my childhood. So awesome. The boys were enamored with all the lights. Oh, and characters. Also wearing lights.

Waiting for the parade to begin:

Fast forward a few days.... We went to Hollywood Studios (what used to be MGM) in the evening to see the Olson Family's Spectacle of Dancing Lights, which is always cool. Majorly cool. It even snowed soap. Here's a pic.

Wyatt and Henry, lovin' the lights.

Wyatt was telling Jaci all about what was happening

Here's my precious mother with her grandsons. Please note that the boys are wearing long sleeved T-shirts but my mother is wearing a sweater and a jacket AND a scarf. Because it WAS about 67 degrees. Don't you see the soap snow? Brrrrrr.

After this, we got in line for Toy Story Mania. About halfway through the looooong line, Wyatt had a wardrobe malfunction that involved a new diaper so mom and Jaci took Henry on the ride. Needless to say, it was his favorite ride of all!

Sadly, that's really the gist of all my pics in Orlando. I can't believe I didn't take any pictures at my parents house. Oh well. At least I got a picture of this ginormous Christmas tree. In early November.

The End

To the Sunshine!

2011-02-06T07:51:00.000-08:00

After a glorious week visiting a cold, crisp Maryland, me and the little boys headed on a plane (BY OURSELVES!) to hot and steamy Orlando to visit my family. The timing didn't work out for Jim to take another week off of work but we saved so much money travelling from Maryland rather than going back another time from Oregon...it was worth it. Kind of. No, I'm kidding. I had some nightmares about what the plane rides would be like with a four and one year old on my own, especially when it came to changing diapers or trying to help your four year old get something out of his backpack without waking up the not-small and sleeping one year old on your lap. Good thing the trip from Maryland to Orlando was only 2 1/2 hours. Ironically, it was the tougher of the two trips, since it was mid-morning and everyone was hyper and ready for the day, but I can't complain too much because in comparison (to the other precious kiddos on the flight), the kids did pretty good.

Anyhoo, we made it, we met my sister at at the security checkpoint and made our way to get our baggage. I had thought through this, so I knew exactly what to do with our 2 suitcases, 1 duffel bag, 2 carseats, 2 backpacks and diaper bag. RENT A BAGGAGE CART. Those things are 100% worth the $4.00, let me tell you. Especially when you're taking two vacations in two completely opposite weather situations. Also, if my sister hadn't come to the airport, there is no way I could have done it. How do you push a stroller and a monster baggage tower at the same time? As smart as Henry is, I wouldn't let him push the stroller for any amount of money. Well, maybe large amounts, but then I'm not proving my point. He likes to push the stroller with arms fully out and head down, where he cannot see where he is going. I love getting to know new folks after my son has just crashed into their shins.

Somehow, we made it through renting a car and making it to my parents house without any disasters, so I felt like a total winner. :) And then we all took naps.

That was Sunday and on Monday, we went to Epcot! My mom was working, so she let us in at the gate and we just took our time wondering around while she sang her little heart out.

One of our first stops: World of Imagination, childhood fav!

Wyatt was hysterical to watch on every ride we went on. If looks could talk, they would have been saying, "What the..." at every bright, loud and colorful thing that popped out.

We stopped and had a $50 lunch, but at least the sandwiches came with grapes!

We celebrated Christmas in the second week of November.

Only at Disney...

Wyatt insisted on holding his precious blankie, even though we were all sweating profusely.

Here we are, in the American Adventure, waiting for Grandma to come sing to us!

And there she is...sweet mother singing her heart out. Can you feel the passion? And how 'bout that hairpiece? :)

Then we stopped at Japan to watch the sweet drum show. The kids were in awe at the huge drums, and I had so much fun watching their reactions that I didn't take any pictures of the show.

We did more, but as I have already stated, I WAS BY MYSELF. I had enough patience to make it through the day without offering one of my children to the many vacationers, but adding trying to take many pictures to the mix would have made for a disaster. Key to happy kids: Keep moving. However, on the ride in Norway, a sweet old man asked if he could hold Wyatt while we waited in line. I tried really hard not to throw my baby at him while he said Wyatt reminded him of his grandchild. Whatever! Hold my heavy child! I love nice people.

Maryland Fill-In-The-Blanks

2011-02-04T15:29:00.000-08:00

I have to say, I got a little kick to finally finish these vacation posts because my friend who is AT Disneyland RIGHT NOW, is already blogging about Disney. We went to Maryland and Orlando in November. Right.

Anyhow, the following are just an assortment of other fun that was had while visiting Jim's family in Maryland. There is truly so much to see in this part of the states, which will give us plenty to do when we visit again. And again. :)

Downtown Baltimore:

Fort McHenry

(For some reason, Henry really liked this name)

Henry asked for this next picture. Not sure about his pose...

Greatest picture ever of Grandpa and his boys! I took it! I took it!

And so the Lego obsession began...

Wyatt got some swingin' in at the Fort Meade Army Base, where Aunt Kathy works (at the library!).

Aaaand last but not least, we got a family picture! It's not perfect and it's not perfectly in focus, but it is all of us!

Such a great trip! We can't wait to go back.
Coming next is my epic adventure on airplanes with two small children by myself. Wait. I didn't take my camera out on those trips. Pics of Disney, coming up!

Museums!

2011-02-04T07:58:00.000-08:00

Well, if you read my last post, we did get to go back to the city...to see museums! I won't say WHO exactly, but one of us was SO excited to visit the National Museum of Natural History because he heard there was a HUGE dinosaur exhibit.

Wyatt's first train ride!! Now that I think about it, it was Henry's, too.

Besides the terrible picture quality, can you sense his excitement??? And I quote, "Mooooommy! It's. A. TYRANNOSAURUS REX!!!!"

Yeah. I'm glad dinos are extinct. This was just and upper thigh bone. What the what?

A view from above:

Future paleontologist, just hanging with his pal T-Rex:

Okay, we saw much, much more at this museum but we forgot about our camera. Let me just tell you - this place was awesome! All kids would have a blast here! Animals, bugs, fossils, jewels...oh my! And. AND! I held a ginormous millipede!!!! Eeeeeeew! I was trying to show Henry that we could all be brave, even when we didn't want to do something. I may or may not have practically flung the thing back at the bug handler afterwards.

Then we skipped over to the American History Museum. We spent most of our time amongst the planes, trains and automobiles section. It was cool:

Henry thought it would be fun to pose with the exhibits:

I'm not sure where he got this idea:

They had a little room full of fun stuff for kids to explore so we of course had to spend a few moments there. Here is Aunt Kathy helping Wyatt with a pinwheel:

Here's the fam on our way back to the train. Can you tell we've had a full day?

Can you?

Jim snapped a shot of the capital building on our way out. Not too shabby!

Our Nation's Capital

2011-02-04T07:36:00.000-08:00

Jim and I were lucky to have his parents on our trip East because we got to visit the Capital one evening with Kathy and Eric while Gma and Gpa watched our little guys. I visited D.C. once when I was in 7th grade but A) much of the significance was lost on me and B) I only remembered very large things, like say, the Washington Monument.

Here's me with that large pointy thing:

What was really, really amazing was getting the chance to do this without our lovely children so we could take in the meaning of so much history and tragedy without being disrupted. Being able to experience these monuments and memorials, especially in the calm of evening, was breathtaking. I have a renewed sense of pride in our country and a tremendous sadness and grief (not to mention gratefulness) for so many lost in battles through the years.

This is the only picture we took at the Vietnam Memorial. If you make it past here to see the wall, you will understand why. There are so many names. SO many names. It was more than overwhelming. The emotion that comes forth when you witness such loss is overpowering, to say the least.

The World War II Memorial is a newer one (I think it was made during George W.'s presidency). It is stunning.

A favorite, The Lincoln Memorial:

It's amazing how you can already know so much about a man and his great deeds and accomplishments, but still be so overcome with the enormity of what he did. I did one of my largest and most important papers for my major on one of his speeches in college, so I feel a connection to him and his agenda. What a great man. Here is Jim and I with Pres. Lincoln. Jim thought we must be very serious, but I was happy. :)

Korean War Memorial:

This is about as close as you can get to the White House:

A fantastic evening spent in fantastic company (and some road detours...have you ever tried to get OUT of D.C.??). I would go back there in a heartbeat! There is so much more to see in the daylight!

Airplanes and Shuttles and Missiles, Oh My!

2011-01-10T20:55:00.000-08:00

The next adventure on our Very American Vacation was the Udvar-Hazy Air & Space Museum. In case you were wondering, it was very cool. There was approximately 2 million airplanes, 600 helicopters, 300,000 missiles and a huge space shuttle. Okay, there wasn't that much stuff, but it was close. There was SO much to see. Henry loved it!

Oh, he's SO casual.

An airplane. Jet? Whichever.

Wyatt.

This was also a fun day for him. He played "I will take my shoe off and toss it over yonder and mommy will go get it and put it back on. Repeat. Repeat. Repeat."

A huge engine or something rather.

In case you didn't know, Transformers was filmed in this particular Air & Space Museum, and Henry watched that scene about 24 times.

Woosh!

Neeeeeeeeeeoooooo!

ROAR!

I have nothing clever for this one.

Candycane, anyone?

The Space Shuttle.

While this was definitely cool for H-dawg to see, I was able to "Meh" at it because I grew up where the space shuttles actually launch from and have seen about a zillion take off.

(I have been told I am prone to exaggeration)

Teeny tiny Henry and BIG, MIGHTY SPACE SHUTTLE.

Weeeee!

Yeah right. Can you even imagine going into outer space, let alone LEAVING THE SHUTTLE ON A LITTLE BOX THING WITH SOME BUTTONS ON IT TO GO FLOATING AROUND? I am sorry to my relatives reading this, but I believe that is a for sure poop-your-pants moment.

Lots of interactive stuff, which is a 4 year old's best friend.

But wait! There's more, there's more! We'll see when I have another free 15 minutes to continue sharing our journey...

Our Very American Vacation

2011-01-05T13:01:00.000-08:00

In November, we were incredibly blessed to be able to visit Jim's sister and brother-in-law in their brand new home in Maryland. Jim's parents were also there so they got to share our kids for one entire week. Ha! Anyhow, they live in an incredible area. So much history is just right there! We only saw a teeny, tiny percentage and we got to see a lot. Such fun! Now we can't wait to go back and explore more and more. And more. And again.

The next week, I got to take the kids (BY MYSELF!!!) to Orlando to visit with my family. Also, much fun was had. Do you see what I mean about American? How can you get more American than the DC area and Disney World? I'm just sayin'.

So. I will try to get a lot of what we did on here in pics. They might not seem too exciting to you, but we had a blast, the kids (namely Henry) had a blast and being with family is always a treat.

Our first adventure:

The Naval Academy at Annapolis

The Naval Academy Chapel

There were lots of really cool statues. Here is one:

Henry enjoyed the space stuff. Jim enjoyed rear-end shots. Thanks, babe!

I had no idea there were so many different types of naval uniforms.

Gorgeous, cold, gorgeous day!

Did I mention it was chilly?

The Naval Academy Ram

So many incredible things to read

So many cannons to sit on...

Lots and lots of miniature ships to see! Many of the ships were made out of bone by prisoners of war and were amazing.

To be continued...

I'm sensing a trend here...

2011-01-02T15:27:00.000-08:00

Once again, the dream of that "Perfect Christmas Picture" was foiled. You know - the one son who smiles on command and yells "CHEEEEESE" anytime he sees anything slightly resembling a camera - WILL. NOT. SMILE.

So, because I am incredibly easy-going and have a super sense of humor about such things, this was the picture on our Christmas cards this year:

Because what says Merry Christmas more than brothers strangling each other??

Did I mention that I printed these the week of Christmas and somehow managed to get most of them out a few days before the big day? If I forgot you, please forgive me. My brain can only handle so much these days. Especially when it has been exhausted by the efforts put forth for these next charming photographs.

Please enjoy the Marr Christmas Cards that Weren't 2010!

This is about when we let Wyatt have a blankie break:

Trying something else...

So that's a no, then.

I have approximately 10 blog posts to catch up on, so here's to a great first blogging month of 2011!
Happy New Year!

Oh, Wyatt

2010-12-10T14:56:00.000-08:00

I felt like it was time for a Wyatt update! You know, as the second child, he doesn't get as much face time as Henry did for 3 years on his own. So where to begin...

If I've said it once, I've said it a million times (hahaha! I'm my mother!)...Wyatt is the exact opposite of Henry. Wyatt is not compliant. Wyatt is not shy. Wyatt has never met a stranger. Wyatt does not eat everything you serve him. If Wyatt doesn't care for what you serve him, he does not keep it on his plate. Wyatt does not sit still. Wyatt does not, after being reminded 20 times, keep crayons, markers or pens out of his mouth. Wyatt does not keep shoes or socks on for more than 2 minutes.

Wyatt does what he wants. Or at least, he tries to. And when he's told "no" or has something taken away, he screeches, stomps around in a circle two times and throws himself on the floor face-down. He throws the best temper tantrums. Two or three times a day.

He is an individual, for sure. His personality is developing loud and strong (emphasis on loud). He is opinionated and downright sassy - at 18 months! Fortunately, there are also quite a few things about him that balance out the stubborn parts of his personality. I just do not know where he gets all that stubbornness from...

Wyatt loves to cuddle. Wyatt loves to talk. He has a very funny sense of humor. He loves to laugh. Wyatt loves to play hide-and-seek. He loves his big brother. He loves being chased. He loves being outside. Wyatt loves giving kisses. He jumps up and down and squeals for joy when we come to get him in the morning. He loves his blankie and drags it everywhere. When he can't find his blankie, he walks around saying, "Uh oh. Uh oh" until it is found. Wyatt is a mama's boy, and while that can be trying at times, it makes me reeeally happy. Did I mention he loves to cuddle?

Wyatt talks all day long, and while you can't understand much of what he is saying, he has quite a few words that most people can figure out. Here's a little sample:

Mama
Dada
Henny (Henry)
Brubba (Brother)
Kee-ee (Kitty)
Nana (Banana)
Tate Too (Thank You)
Eyes
Noose (Nose)
Teeeese (Please)
Teeeese (Cheese)
Mi Ma (Mickey Mouse)
Da Duck (Donald Duck)
Meenee (Minnie)
Dewce (Juice)
Ba (Ball)
Piper (Diaper)
Burrrr! (Bird)
Nenna (Jenna)
Yep
Nononononono!

At 18 months, he is:
30 lbs. 13 oz (95%)
34 1/4 inches tall (90-95%)

Not quite as big or long as his brother but still a big boy and we love it! He spices up our life and we are thankful for the privilege of being his parents. I don't think Henry could even imagine life without his baby brother. We sure love this crazy little guy! Here's to a lifetime of saying, "Oh, Wyatt."

This is what happens when your 4 year old has his own camera

2010-12-08T14:52:00.000-08:00

Don't you want to run out and get your kid a camera? And this is only a small portion of Henry's "collection." I wanted to post this a long time ago, but...well...I forgot. Grandma and Grandpa Marr got Henry a kids camera for his birthday last July and it is always a big hit at our house. I haven't decided yet if it is very weird that Henry mostly takes pictures of himself making faces...

At least we get a good laugh out of it. :)

In Loving Memory

2010-12-07T08:00:00.000-08:00

After 2 years fighting stomach cancer, my Grandfather passed away November 21st. I have spent the last 2 weeks trying to decide whether or not his passing is something I should blog about. There is no way that I could ever sum up with mere words the greatness of this man in one post and I think that is what I was conflicted over. What I decided today though, was that I didn't have to do that.

My Grandpa read my blog religiously. He loved that I had my blog as a means to keep memories, which he also enjoyed. My grandparents house is full (and I mean ceiling to floor in some places!) with pictures. Hundreds of pictures and collages full of memories. Family, friends, places - everywhere. I love walking down the halls of their home because I am instantly taken back to when I was 2...9...12 (mercy, my outfits). Times that may have seemed insignificant to me at the time, but that were so important to my Grandparents to remember. I learned from them how important it is to "remember." How loved all us grand kids felt because our Grandpa wanted pictures of us all over his house. It didn't even come close to being the only way he showed us his love and devotion as our Grandfather, but it was something he really enjoyed and something us grand kids felt proud to be a part of.

I want to honor my Grandpa's tradition by being faithful in my own memory keeping - whether it's by keeping up with my blog, journaling, or hanging pictures on our walls. I want my kids to know by these actions how much we love them - and some day, their children, along with the personal relationships my Grandpa blessed us with.

A man of God, a humble servant, a loving father, grandfather and husband, encourager, fighter, believer, protector. My Grandpa. I miss you so much but I know you are celebrating with Jesus. I can't wait to see you again. Hallelujah!

http://obits.oregonlive.com/obituaries/oregon/obituary.aspx?n=cw-field-bill&pid=146822037

That's what uncles are good for

2010-11-29T20:00:00.000-08:00

My brother was here for a couple days and Henry took good advantage of the play time that was offered him. Leave it to Jeremiah to take what we usually make gentle-ish sword play into all-out-hard-core sword fighting. This is only a small portion of their fight to the end. As you can see, it "ended" more than once.

My favorite part is when Henry "gets" Jeremiah, Jeremiah acts "gotten" and Henry then plops himself over like he was "gotten" too. Little nut.

Come back soon, Jeremiah! (and Lauren!)

It was about time

2010-10-27T15:29:00.000-07:00

I've lived in Oregon for over 12 years now and have never gone berry picking. Not one time. So! Back in September, on a rather boring but beautiful day, Jim and did some research to find a farm close by that still had berries available. And whaddayouknow? There's a farm just down the road and they still had raspberries and blackberries. Henry was SO excited. We packed up the kids and 5 minutes later, we were there.

The first realization I had was, Holy Cow! I've been paying a LOT of money for store bought berries! The second realization was, Hmmm...this is a great (and fun!) time waster! Picture me doing this with the kids all the time next summer!

Here is Jim, still smiling because he has only just put Wyatt on his back

(the kid is not a lightweight)

Ready!

And off he goes!

Henry's strategy was:

1) Pick a berry

2) Eat a berry

3) Once bucket got a teensy bit heavy, dump into Mom or Dad's

Someone ate triple his body weight in berries. If we were not putting a berry in his mouth, he was yelling. Loudly. I won't share diaper stories from later on...

You turn your head for one second and someone sticks his hands in your bucket!

yum yum.

Sweet (loud) boy.

Okay, so I kind of miss his hair.

Pumpkin Patch 2010

2010-10-23T10:56:00.000-07:00

I have to say, one of our favorite days of the year is our annual Pumpkin Patch trip. This year we got super-lucky and ended up at the patch on a rainy day. Why lucky, you ask? Two reasons: 1) NO ONE ELSE WAS THERE! and 2) it only drizzled a bit in the beginning, then stopped and did I mention we pretty much had the place to ourselves? We could take our time with everything. No lines for the hay ride, pony rides, hay maze slide, etc, etc. The kids all had so much fun! Not one of them (save Kaitlyn) didn't have mud on them, but every drop of dirt was worth it. There was once a time that I would have had a minor panic attack over being so dirty, but better mothers (the mothers that were with me) have helped me change that perspective. It's much more fun to be dirty!

Here is our day in pictures:

The baby chicks are always a big hit

(mental note: keep chicks away from Wyatt)

Climbing some hay

Ain't nothin' like a freshly made pumpkin donut!

One the hay ride

One of the cutest faces I've ever seen...

Does anyone know why Jim and I love this next shot so much?

Did you answer "Roy Bunch?" =D

(Okay, I might also get a chuckle about Sarah's peek-a-boo eye)

*Friends*

There is something special about knowing these kids have done this together since birth.

Carson's First Pony Ride!

Henry's First Pony Ride!

Ethan's First Pony Ride!

(but he wasn't happy about it at all)

All of us were stunned that these boys all got on horses, but as you can see, they loved it!

Wyatt

Being reminiscent of a time not too long ago when these three boys were rolly polly babies at a pumpkin patch...Holy Cow, time flies!

Afterwards, Wyatt played with the ladies.

See? I told ya so.

Definitely a good day. The kind of day where you are overwhelmed by your blessings in friendships and your love for so many little ones.

Can't wait for next year!

Because I'm cool like that

2010-10-15T08:12:00.000-07:00

Just some pics of Joe Cool (aka Wyatt, aka loud one, aka screamsalot). These pics were obviously taken a couple weeks ago, before the life-changing hair cut. I couldn't resist posting them for the grands. Thanks, mom, for the studly outfit! He certainly is Mr. Flirts-a-lot...ask Jenna. ;)

Ladies...

Forever Friend

2010-10-14T10:17:00.000-07:00

I realize that most people consider themselves blessed if they have one really good friend. You know, the kind of friend who is always there, always honest, always true. The friend who loves you for you, as cuckoo and flawed as you are. The friend that you would turn over backward for as well. I am crazy-blessed to have four girlfriends that fit this category. FOUR. Whom I love as sisters and treasure above all earthly possessions.

Today, however, I am focusing on ONE. Because this ONE has been on my mind and heart lately. Partly because she is going through the adoption process right now, and we so badly want to meet the newest addition to their family, which really, is our family. I want to talk to her every day about what is happening, not just on legal papers, but in her heart. Which brings me to the other reason she's been on my mind. I miss her! Even living about an hour away, I still generally get to see her a couple times a month, but if I could make that a couple times a week, I would. What has got me so teary in gratefulness to our Lord, however, is that EVEN THOUGH I don't see her weekly like I used to, and now our kids are all so busy in preschool and extra activities, and we usually have to plan a couple weeks in advance to have any kind of get-together...NOTHING CHANGES. She is constant. Our friendship is steadfast.

I am thankful for her just because she is Jen. I am also thankful for her because she has shown me the measure of a true friend. She has been honest with me, even when it was hard. She suffered a loss for me but let me rejoice in her gain, even though it was really hard. She is quit-witted and hilarious and I treasure our conversations and similarities. She is a hard-working, dedicated, consistent, amazing mother, whom I have learned so much from (good stuff - all good!). She is a beautiful person, inside and out. She is a great listener and encourager. She loves our Lord Jesus and has a pure heart of worship. She is everything I hope to be in a person and friend!

Why this sentimental post, Steph? I don't know! Sometimes when you've been thinking something so much, you've got to get it out there. Blogs are a great way to celebrate something like this, because in person, there would be many tears and inadequate articulations. This way, while there are still tears, I can think and type more clearly!

Anyhow, I love you Jen! If there is one particular thing I am always thankful for, it is that you asked me to come sit by you that day in rehearsal at Sleighbells. I count that the first step to a forever friendship.

Marr Family Pumpkin, Take 1

2010-10-12T16:38:00.000-07:00

I know, I know...we have a four year old and have never carved a pumpkin together?!?! Wait. Maybe that's actually not as uncommon as I might think. This year is the first time Henry has been SUPER excited about the whole idea of pumpkin carving. It is also the first year that Jim and I thought it would be really fun to do with him. Since we had our annual Pumpkin Patch day with our friends this last weekend and picked out Henry's perfect pumpkin (aka Mommy's choice), we were ready to go. Well, Jim and Henry were ready. This was their deal. Ladies, is there nothing hotter than getting to constantly witness your husband being an awesome dad?

Please join us on our pumpkin carving adventure!

First step: removing the top

(note to self: that handy dandy cutting instrument they sell at the patch isn't in fact capable of cutting the top off unless you want multiple blisters and a case of carpal tunnel)

Required: one super-cute kiddo, ready to get to work!

or not...

Here is Dad, painstakingly copying Henry's blueprint of what our pumpkin should look like:

Henry made a tiny dot for the nose. We improvised.

There is no cutting picture because I went out to buy tea lights, but Jim told me his hand was out of commission thanks to our precious boy's need for the just right mouth.

Jim gets all the credit for that one. But I get credit for this little guy!

You know those moments when you are so overcome with joy over your children and their accomplishments and excitement for life? Here was one of mine:

This moment may have made me forget about the battle (screams, tears) over not playing video games a few hours earlier...

This moment might have made me snort by accident:

Peekaboo, piggie!

The End

unsweatproof

2010-10-07T13:17:00.000-07:00

Can you tell which of these children consistently sweat off their generously applied sunscreen this summer and which did not?

Yikes, whitey!

In other news, look who has joined us at the big-people table!

Yes, this roll is his meal. He is currently on the B.R.A.T. diet for reasons I shall not go into detail on, and refuses to eat toast or rice. So this is his dinner. One cannot eat only applesauce and banana all day, right?

You can only take so much

2010-10-04T17:49:00.000-07:00

Hair, that is. And when it is sweaty, it is crazy all over the place. Continuing to follow the little chap around with scissors was either going to a) make me crazy, or b) result in a bleeding ear. What's a mom to do?

Bzzzzzzz.

That's what.

Girls Weekend!

2010-09-27T14:57:00.000-07:00

In my last post, I mentioned my besties. Well, here they are!

Aren't they pretty?

Our husbands let us plan a getaway weekend JUST FOR US and we have been looking forward to it for months. We spend the entire weekend at the beach, talking till midnight, reading magazines, watching movies, eating healthy foods (hahahahahaha), shopping and just relaxing. No schedules. No plans. Awesome. Husbands, we love you!

Of course we had to get a group shot! It's not something we do often because it gets forgotten in the chaos of screaming, crying, whining children that we are usually surrounded by. But with a handy self-timer and plenty of time to ourselves, we got some winners! I am positive the girls are A-OK with me sharing these. I mean, they posed for them, right? (please don't kill me)

So, we said, "Sexy pose!"

This is what I see:

Sexy-ish pose, Heehee, Youtalkintome?, Sexy, Scary

Let's try again:

Same, I'm embarrassed, I'm sorry, Evil Eye, Demon

Okay, try silly on for size!

You know you are laughing right now!

You want more?

Hopefully, they are still my besties. 'Cause I really, really love them. They are my sisters, my gifts from God.

I love you, you gorgeous girlies!

You don't own me

2010-09-23T14:21:00.000-07:00

So. This post is a long time in coming, but I'm ready people. I'm ready.

I found out about 9 months ago that I have Celiac's disease. After some awesome tests that I won't go into detail on, I was hoping for lactose intolerance or something less formidable, but no such luck. Incidentally, I found out on New Years Eve, RIGHT BEFORE we enjoyed a HUGE pasta dinner with our good friends. Lovely! I decided to enjoy one last delicious meal before changing my entire eating habits for the rest of my life. You gotta live a little!

For anyone who doesn't know about Celiac's, it means I can't eat gluten. It's not an allergy - not an intolerance. It destroys my intestines, which then means that I don't get any nutrients from my food. The only way to be "well" is to never eat anything with gluten in it. Sounds easy enough, except gluten is in EVERYTHING!

At first, I was disappointed. I was sad. No more cake??? Oreos? Stroganoff? Think of anything super-delicious that you love -- it probably has gut-rot (well, for me anyhow) in it. Wah! I could talk forever about all the feelings and emotions I went through, but really, what good does it do now? I had to visit a gastroenterologist, where I had a minor breakdown because I was the only person in the waiting room under the age of 65. I remember thinking, "I don't belong here." This is the kind of thing that happens to other people but never me. I won't lie. It sucked. But when I went in to see the doctor, he said not what I necessarily expected, but exactly what this neurotic girl needed. He told me that this disease was not a death sentence, it was not going to ruin my life unless I let it. It is all about perspective and how you want to live. Some people take such dramatic approaches to this "life" and in turn, aren't able to enjoy themselves. I didn't want to be that way. I wanted to be healthy, but more than that, I didn't want to drag my family and friends down with a constant downer approach to my digestive habits.

So, starting out slowly, I just eliminated a lot. My husband was AWESOME with a capital A. He never complained. He was okay when I dropped several staple recipes that I could no longer eat. He tried all the mooshy brown rice noodles and weird snacks. My family just adjusted with me while I figured the cooking thing out. It's definitely been a process, and having a baby does not make it any easier on the experimenting front. Wyatt is at that awesome age where if you're in the kitchen doing anything at all, he just has to stand next to you, pulling on your pants (or your hairy legs, whichever) and screaming at the top of his lungs, "DEEZ? DEEZ!" That means "please" in case you were wondering. Sometimes I think about chucking whatever food or drink I might be preparing/chopping/pouring at his face and seeing what he does...but I don't. I mean, what kind of mother would that make me? Anyhow, I digress.

Today, September 23, 2010 is a big day for me. It is the beginning of the rest of my life. You see, I have the world's MOST AMAZING FRIENDS. You might think you have the best friends ever, but you don't. I do. There isn't enough space on the entire blogospere to describe why they are amazing and all that they have done for me. The moment they found out about my life-change, they were all online looking up information and recipes and anything they could get their hands on. They would see anything labeled Gluten-Free at the grocery/Starbucks/you name it, and they would buy it for me. We have had get-togethers, sometimes for their kids' birthday parties, and they have made me MY own cake. One of them even made a little green bean casserole dish for me on Easter, made with gluten free soup. Seriously. Don't worry! I'm crying just typing this right now! They look out for me, even though it means extra work on their part. This is, perhaps, one of the hardest things for me. They all say it makes them happy to take care of me in this way, but I keep thinking, "but this is forever." It is hard to know that because you have this problem, you will be accepting the gifts and givings of your friends and family forever. People who love you will look out for you, even when you are not asking them to.

Back to what I was saying... They and a few others bought me cookbooks. So many. These cookbooks don't just have the gluten-free recipes in them I need, they offer so much information about basics of cooking and baking gluten-free. So for 9 months I have poured over them, marking pages and putting them back. I wasn't ready. My baby was still too needy and I didn't have the time to try new things. But today. Today! My children were in good moods, everyone had had lunch and had full bellies, and I did it.

I MADE PUMPKIN BREAD. And I can eat it!!! And people...YUM. You wouldn't know it wasn't made with death flour.

Perhaps this doesn't sound like the biggest accomplishment to anyone else, but to me, it is a new start. I have always loved baking and come from a family with the most incredible passed-on recipes. Silly as it may seem, it has always been a part of my identity. It feels so good to have this part of me back.

Has anyone actually read all this?

To my friends and family and all those (because there are many, many others who have given me cookbooks, web links, etc.) who have helped me this year, THANK YOU. You have no idea what you have done for me. I wouldn't have had the confidence I needed to move forward. And back to something my doctor said..."You're going to make mistakes, and that is okay. You live. You learn. It's not gonna kill you."

My perspective is this: I want to be as healthy as I can so I can live a long and happy life. I will not let this disease overcome my joy of living or my joy of being in the kitchen. My kids will still come home from school to fresh cookies, whether I can eat them or not. What matters is I am here to enjoy life with them and I am happy! YOU DON'T OWN ME, CELIACS!

Goodbye Summer

2010-09-13T16:00:00.000-07:00

Is it just me or did summer just zip by this year? It seems like the sun took forever to even show up and then it was weekend to weekend of one thing or another and then BOOM! Henry's back in school. Even though I feel like I barely got a taste of a true, long summer, I have been reflecting on what made this summer perfect. It's very simple:

Family.

Backyard.

Almost every day, we played for hours in the backyard. These are the times that I remember how incredibly blessed I am to get to be at home with my children. I get to witness the unfolding of their relationship. Sometimes that involves tears, time-outs (for me, too!), and make-up hugs, but there are also the really great moments:

Jim and I got to watch Henry develop a bigger interest in sports,

and learn the lessons of try, try again and "we don't play to win, we play because it's fun."

Wyatt is at that beautiful age of exploration. Everything is new and worthy of his full attention (for at least 10 seconds or so). He loves being outside. He loves the sandbox.

He loves his brother.

I'm pretty sure these brothers are the center of my most cherished memories this summer.

This little one learned that Daddy's arms are always ready to catch him,

and are always available for a little snuggle.

This mother learned that her firstborn was no longer a toddler, but a little boy.

Who loves his very flawed and imperfect mama a lot.

Though today I could write about the trials I am facing as a mother, I have decided to end summer on a good note and remember the wonder

and joy

that these kids, my kids, brought me.

But hey there, reader...don't worry. I am not living in a dream world! Moments like this:

did happen. Perhaps frequently.

But this family knows that this summer was perfect.

Sweet Chili Sauce

2010-09-07T13:49:00.000-07:00

Kind of an oxymoron, if you ask me. Although, it does perfectly describe life with these two firecrackers:

Let's be honest. Kids are awesome. Kids are fun - the spice of life!

They can exude warmth and comfort far better than nutmeg and cloves.

And can pack way more of a punch than any hot tamale.

My children can out-do any lemon in a sourface contest.

Occasionally, you have to deal with a little blandness, but that never seems to last too long.

The best times are sugary-sweet. Sharing is plentiful and everyone has love in their hearts.

That is, until a little Cajun tries to liven things up.

Attempting to tone down any spices and their inherent ability to kick it up a notch can often lead to a bit of nastiness,

but a good dose of Daddy's dilliness can turn around any recipe for disaster.

These two kids rock my world! Sometimes its their sweetness and ability to melt my heart with the slightest affectionate word or touch. Other times its that how do I love them so much it hurts, yet I want to be far, far away from them right now kind of a feeling. Either way, they are mine and although we're in a "season" (haha!) of life that has everyone pulling their hair out (and covering their ears) at times, I'll take them. Spices and all.

My first popsicle

2010-08-30T16:18:00.000-07:00

My brother told me it would be good.

What he failed to tell me is...

IT WAS AWESOME.

Delicious!

Worth the mess!

Thank you to my mommy, who is way more flexible in her ideas of what is acceptable for a 15 month old to eat than she was with my brother. She rocks.

Did I mention?

2010-08-26T10:58:00.000-07:00

Wyatt is walking!

It's been a couple weeks, but he's gotten a lot better now. Of course, when the camera is shooting, he tries to run for it or decides to crawl.

So, life has changed again. I love it! It doesn't hurt that he's cute as a button and is trying so hard to talk to us. Babble, babble all day long.

Even though it means chasing him around all day, I LOVE this stage of a baby's life. Henry is also thoroughly enjoying that Wyatt is walking. It means he is this much closer to being able to tackle him. ;)

The New Wyatt, brought to you by...Me

2010-08-03T10:26:00.000-07:00

You know when there is something in your life that you know needs to be done, but you have neither the knowledge or confidence to do it? But then one day, after much planning and consideration, you decide, I can do this thing. Have you ever just gone for it, only to sit back immediately afterwards and say to yourself, oh crap. what have I done?

Yes. Well. The subject of my dismay is my youngest son. More specifically, his hair. It was really, really long and out of control. It was also adorable. But it was out of control and always in his eyes. And people would constantly swipe it the wrong way out of his eyes, which was annoying to me. I'm just being honest. So. It started at first with just the back, 'cause I'm sorry, but I am not all about mullets. But then, Jim said his sideburns (which were now about an inch longer than the back) had to be trimmed. Bye bye, little whispies! But. BUT! Then!

He went from being this naughty rock star:

To this, um, little french boy?

Exactly. What.have.I.done?! He looks like a little girl with a bob!

In my terror over Wyatt's all of a sudden unawesome hair, I followed him around all day yesterday with scissors in my back pocket. A little snip here, a little snip there. All day. The kid needed some layering; tapering, if you will.

Finally, after hours of trying to take advantage of a momentarily sitting still baby (yeah right!) and leaving tiny hairs all over the house (which Jim was thrilled about!), we got this:

It's not the best picture of it, but I promise, it's better and look how happy he is!

Just for fun, here's a video of Wyatt thinking his mommy is soooo funny. Because I am, people. Also, it's a better look at his brand new haircut. I hope you all like it because I am not doing that again until he will sit still under clippers.

I never claimed to be a professional hairstylist. At least his hair is no longer in his eyes. That's something. Right?

Wyatt lately

2010-07-27T10:09:00.000-07:00

He is still smiley and funny and cute, but let's add loud and mischievous and temperamental to the mix. Wyatt's personality has really taken off in the last few months and while he is a lot of fun, he can also be a handful! He continues to be very different from his big brother in every way. He is into everything! EVERYTHING! Saying "NO!" only makes him laugh and do it again. Removing him from the situation makes him turn around and head right back. Removing him again makes him throw his fists in the air and scream. He still throws his food and chucks his sippy cups so hard, the "spill-proof" cups send a fountain of drink in the air as they hit the ground. It is impossible not to laugh at him when he is being naughty. He is strong and has the will to crawl over anything. He still isn't walking, though I think if he tried he could. He throws his hands in the air and lands with a thud on the ground before taking off at full speed on his hands and knees. It's his way or the highway. Or the loud way. Whichever. He is extremely social and so far, has not met a stranger. He will be the child who might need a kiddy-leash or else be lost at the mall/grocery store/zoo/anywhere we might go. I am a little bit scared of this kid...of what he is going to be capable of accomplishing very soon. Being cute with awesome hair he totally uses to his advantage only makes it worse. BUT! He is still sweet and flirty and cuddly and is still my baby and knows it. We love him to pieces (even when his dumping stuff in the toilet has me seriously thinking about leaving him on the curb)!

Pictures!

Can you see the look in his eyes??? Mischievous!

He loves being sneaked up on...major squealing, I tell ya

The wind beneath our wings...

Prepare yourself for the stop-it-ness of this next picture:

I know, right? So cute! The little booger.

One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Not a Fish

2010-07-23T09:57:00.000-07:00

We signed Henry up for his first swimming lessons this summer. We waited till now because he has always been a little timid of the water and I have a problem paying $58 for him not to get in the pool. Also, one of his besties Nate was in the class with him and we thought if they had each other, they'd do well - like preschool. I have always been a fish (growing up in Florida will do that for you) and have had a hard time dealing with Henry's fright of the water. I want to encourage him but not push him; excite him but not overdo it. Is throwing him in the pool and making him find his way out with raw survival skills too much? Anyhow, while he absolutely loved being in the water while it was 3 feet deep, he did not love it so much when his feet were not solidly planted on the ground. The poor teenager who was Henry's teacher got a lot of ear piercing screams...in his ear.

Henry was recommended to retake this level of lessons again, until he is more comfortable putting his face in the water and being held on his back or tummy with support. So basically, until he can do anything other than jump around in the shallow end and splash his buddy Nate. Precious boy. Though I have to say, he is a smart one. One of the activities they do to have the kids get their faces in the water is throw plastic eggs and rings on the pool bottom and make the kids pick them up. One time, Henry's teacher purposely put a ring a little deeper and asked Henry to get it (because let's be honest, Henry is tall and his face was not going under water during these exercises). I watched with great anticipation...while my brilliant son monkey grabbed the ring with his toes and then handed the ring to his teacher with a smile. Yes he did. I suppose I have to be proud of his problem solving skills!

So, we will try again! (Yeah Jenna! No pass!) He will eventually get it, right? Things are slightly better and he is that much more comfortable with all things swimming pool so at least we got somewhere. I will work at being okay with him not being a fish like me and continue to clap and cheer exuberantly whilst my eldest child has just demonstrated how well he can put his chin in the water.

***

And now, pictures!

Here is a cutie of Henry and my pretty mama. This was about 15 seconds before he fell backwards off the bleachers and landed on his head. 5 head x-rays, 2 treasure basket toys, 2 stickers and 1 huge ice cream later, he was A-OK.

Here is Henry on the last day, ready to go down the big water slide!

Waiting for his turn with the big kids class..

Here is my big boy, coming down the slide:

If you didn't catch what he was saying at the end, it was, "That was so, so, so, so fast. I wanted it slower."

And then! Mr. Teenager asked Henry if he wanted to jump of the diving board. I thought to myself, "Yeah right!" but Henry said he did...if his teacher would hold him. I won't give away what happened. Just watch. And listen carefully at the end.

Oh yeah. HA! I love this kid. :)

FOUR

2010-07-20T00:01:00.000-07:00

Four years ago today, I held you in my arms for the first time.

You were the answer to so many prayers - a true and perfect gift from God. We waited for you longer than we would have preferred, but my sweet son...it was well worth it. And now, here you are. Four years old.

A happy, healthy, intelligent, thoughtful, caring, obedient, energetic and silly little boy. You have grown in leaps and bounds this year. We watched as you bravely entered preschool, unsure yet excited. You went from not looking your teachers in the eye to tackling them in a full embrace, legs up and arms thrown around their necks when it was time to leave. We watched you develop a very silly sense of humor and take stabs at telling jokes (ahem). We watched as you tried new things, jumped from greater heights and befriended total strangers at the park. Best of all, we watched you become a big brother - the most amazing brother we could have ever imagined. How can we put into words the tenderness you have towards Wyatt? The ability you have over all others to make him smile or laugh? The way every morning when we go in to get him, he waits, staring at his door until you come running in with a huge "GOOD MORNING, WYATT!" and then lots of jumping and squealing ensues because you are his very best friend? In your own way, you have show us a true selflessness(ish) because you will most always drop what you are doing to go help your baby brother out if he's upset or in a bind.

We are still watching you develop a deeper curiosity of Jesus and a desire to know more about Him and His written Word. There is NO GREATER JOY for us than when you ask us about Him. We are so proud of you, Henry. You are a pure and constant joy in our lives and even though you scream like a preteen girl on a roller-coaster when you're hurt or angry, we still love you more than we thought possible.

My precious boy...thank you for being exactly who you are. I am not sure how you are already FOUR, but one thing is for certain:

I cannot wait to see what the next four years have in store for you!

Happy Birthday, Henry! I love you!

Sick and...not sick

2010-07-08T10:36:00.000-07:00

Henry: Mommy, why are you taking Wyatt's picture?

Me: Because he is so sick and sad looking and it's cute.

Henry: Um, Mommy? Can you take MY picture because I am not sick?

Me: Yes. I can do that. Say "cheese!"

Thank you, Mr. Comic Relief. :)

My kids were so bored, they did this...

2010-06-30T19:35:00.000-07:00

Because, I mean, we have NO toys in the house at all.

Some chatter for your Tuesday

2010-06-29T07:42:00.000-07:00

I've been slacking in the blogging department, I know. Because this week is crazy busy, I probably won't make up for it either. I shall try, however, to win you over with this video from a few weeks ago of our quiet baby boy:

Honestly. Could Jim have rubbed off on him any more?

Sun, Animals and Some Large Extinct Things

2010-06-10T08:20:00.000-07:00

It was Saturday. It was gorgeous outside for the first time in perhaps weeks. We hadn't done anything fun together just us as a family of four for what seemed like forEVER. What to do?

Who wants to see some bears...

big cats...

and baby elephants??

WE DO! WE DO!
Now show me some excitement!

'Twas somebody's naptime...not that it mattered to him.

There were dinosaurs to be seen!

Excited...but also a little bit nervous about the not-real-but-still-very-large-and-loud-and-big-toothed machines. I mean dinosaurs.

We trekked through the mist (aaaahhhhh - that's background music for y'all)...

and found prehistoric crocodiles eating fish!

And then - DUN DUN DUUUUNNNNN - we were attacked!

Henry just looked that dino in the eye and told him he was loud. Snap!

AND THEN WE WERE ALMOST EATEN ALIVE!!!!

Henry made it out okay, though...

and played some drums in celebration.

Then we watched this guy

watch his ladies fight.

One of those ladies told us to mind our own business,

so we went and played peek-a-boo elsewhere.

Operation: naptime, success! So what if it's two hours too late!

Of course, one cannot stay asleep when he smells the aroma of lunch!

Please sunshine, come back. We would like to have more days like this. Next time, maybe mommy can hold the camera so we can have proof that the man of the house was with us!

Side note: the dinosaur exhibit was pretty cool! We had to pay $10.50 for our whole family and we'll only go the one time, but I think it is worth it if your kid loves dinosaurs.

Raising boys

2010-06-02T07:38:00.000-07:00

ONE

2010-05-30T00:01:00.000-07:00

Baby, you turn one today.

You have brought more joy to this family than you can know. You are a constant stream of smiles, giggles and emphatic blabbering. If you hear someone around you laughing, you join on in, whether or not you know what they're laughing at. You do not hoard your food in your mouth like your brother did. No...you like to throw it all over the kitchen for fun. You like to chuck your sippy cup off your high chair and shake your head at the same time, knowing we are about to say "No no." You love remote controls and scream when they are taken away from you. You are a busy, busy boy. You crawl with purpose at the speed of light, with your head down and your hands slightly turned inward. You get into everything - opening every cabinet and every drawer within reach (including the toilet seat). You love playing with cars and giving them sound effects. You love your big brother, even when he is not necessarily being what we call gentle. When you hear him in another room, you turn his direction and call, "bruber?" It is also the first thing you say when we come to get you in the morning. You love to be a part of waking him up and screech like a banshee when you see him. You can't say "dada" enough when your daddy enters the room, and you still have a special smile that is only for him. You are a serious "mamamama"'s boy and while at times it can be slightly annoying to not get to hand you off, I secretly love that you love to be near me.

This year has gone by too fast and I am struck with the reality that you are almost not a baby anymore. Part of me wants to put the brakes on and keep you this way forever, but I also know that there are such fun times to come. As far as we know, you are our last baby, and while there is some mourning on my part because of it, I have great joy in knowing what sweet babies I was given in you and your brother. I am easily overwhelmed and brought to my knees in thanks for you both.

Daddy, Henry and I love you so much and are so happy to celebrate this first anniversary of your birth.

Yes, you loved your cake. Down to the last reachable crumb.

What a difference a (school) year brings

2010-05-27T09:44:00.000-07:00

Remember this little boy?

It is hard to believe this was 9 months ago on Henry's first day of preschool. I felt like I was not ready for such a big change! He has done so well in school, loves his teachers, loves his friends. He loves the things they learn and play each day. He has grown in so many ways and I am so thankful for his teachers, who have loved each of Henry's classmates in such a special way. Henry has come out of his shyness shell SO much this year, thanks to his preschool. I am so proud of all he has learned and accomplished as a 3 year old! He cannot wait to be a big boy in the 4 year olds class come September.

Here is our big (almost 4 year old) boy today, on his last day of 3 yrs preschool:

I can't believe how much less of a toddler and so much more of a little boy he looks!

Wyatt was also proud of his big bro and wanted to pose with him:

So blessed!

Water Babies

2010-05-17T08:00:00.000-07:00

What a weekend! Jim and I had the privilege of watching Carson and Sydney on Friday and Saturday while Jen and Trent went to adoption classes. To say that Henry and Carson had a good time just doesn't do it justice. All I will say is there was a lot of laughing and a lot of loud. Good times.

On Saturday, we walked over to the new fountains at 53rd street park so the kids could burn off some energy and cool off from the sun. Hurray for warm days! Here is a sample of our time at the water park (yes, there are mostly pics of Wyatt...you try and take pics of older kids running through water spouts at lightening speed...):

At first, Syd was not too sure...

Someone loves him some water!

Sydney = darling

Please note the boy in blue just over Wyatt's head. Nice face!

The Sady's joined us for some play time and we all had lunch together. Doesn't it look like Sam and Jenna are having a blast? Hee.

Wyatt could not get enough of the water. He was all over it! Even though he seemed fine, Jim scooped him out after a long while 'cause the water was cold and his skin was frigid. He loved it, though!

As we were leaving, Jim asked the boys if we should get some chocolate milk to enjoy at home. What do you think they said? Popsicles on Mickey Mouse sticks (thanks, mom!) completed their sugar-free snack.

Such a fun weekend! We love our friends and we love getting to spend time with their kiddos. We can't wait to spend time with ALL THREE in the somewhat near future!

This Kid

2010-05-13T10:46:00.000-07:00

Sometimes, I don't know what to do with this kid:

He's at that age (almost 4!) where many things are a daily battle and time-outs are a plenty. He is trying to figure out how life works, what his role is and how much we are truly paying attention. One little slip in consistency and BAM! Back to square one.

The (not so) funny thing is that all the disobeying or talking back, etc. isn't what is getting to me the most right now. It's the screaming. I'm pretty sure I've mentioned it before, and if you have spent any length of time with dear Henry, then you have witnessed it first hand; Henry is a screamer. He is loud when he cries in general, but good grief, if he falls down...it's time to pull out the ear plugs or you might very well end up with hearing damage. I've fought myself with this issue for a long time - I didn't want to be the mom that told my kid to buck it up and stop being so dramatic. I want him to experience emotions. I want him to know it's okay to be sad, heck, it's totally okay if you want to cry. You can even be mad. But child. STOP. SCREAMING. Everyone within a mile thinks that you just had a leg removed. You think I'm exaggerating, but alas, I am not.

Look, isn't he sweet?

You should see him when he's got his head thrown back and mouth open so wide you can not only see his tonsils, you can see about 5 inches down his throat. It's lovely. What's a mom to do? Eat crack (aka Muddy Buddies) of course.

Luckily, Henry is not skinning his knee or getting a splinter or hitting his funny bone every minute of the day. A lot of our day is full of laughter ('cause honestly, kids at this age are hysterical) and proud feelings for my oldest son who is such a kind and loving big brother. I genuinely love to spend time with him. I love how his mind works and puts things together. I love his sense of humor and creativity. His imagination is something so big that not even our house can contain it. I love how excited he gets when we do just about anything together. I love how he wants to be just like his daddy and wants Wyatt to be just like him. He is a good kid. He is a sweet kid.

But gracious, he can scream. How do you make a 3-almost-4 year old understand how to scream on the inside but be tough on the outside? Henry gets very serious when we talk about it and says he understands about how the screaming scares people. How people will think he has broken both arms and possibly his legs when really, someone just stepped on his foot.

If you think those discussions have made any difference thus far, you are mistaken. It's a good thing I love this kid:

If only he knew how much I would give up only to be able to pucker up and kiss this face every day.

But seriously, stop screaming.

PS If you have never had Muddy Buddies, do not look up the recipe. It is highly addictive and my friends, it is not good to be addicted to crack.

Sleeping babes

2010-05-07T08:15:00.000-07:00

What is it with sleeping babies that can captivate you for minutes (dare I say hours? for newborns, of course) on end? Jim and I check on the boys every night before we go to bed and always get a good chuckle out of their sleeping positions or just general cuteness. It's one of my favorite moments of the day. No matter how rough the day was, or how whiny and obnoxious, or how sick and snotty my kids were; when they are resting peacefully, I am so easily overwhelmed only by my immense love for them.

I also love getting my babies from their naps. If they've slept too long and it could impede on bedtime, I get super-excited to experience those waking-up moments. Note that I said "babies." This does not include Henry so much anymore. Woken up in the morning, he is very sweet and suddenly full of energy for the day. Woken up from a nap (which occurs every blue moon these days), it's like we've taken an unexpected trip to Grouchland. Anyhow, Wyatt, like his brother as a babe, is fun to wake up. He is confused at first, and groggy, and then very excited to see you. Of course, when an opportunity presents itself, you must take pictures!

Rock-a-bye, baby

This is when you have to overcome your intense desire to smooch them into oblivion:

Because I know you're all dying to experience my life first-hand, I got it all on video!

Isn't he sweet? Yes....well....most of the time, anyway! He has become somewhat of a mama's boy and thus slightly burdening as of late. Still sweet, though. And heavy.

While we're on the subject of waking up, what the morning hair?

One more bit of Wyatt news...he got his first knot on his forehead, compliments of big brother's monster truck. Being flung in his general direction by said big brother. To Henry's credit, it was an accident and he was only flinging the thing to show me the monster truck's cool flipping tricks. Somehow, the truck flung the opposite of intended direction. Henry immediately ran over and said sorry with a hug for his screaming brother- which was very sweet - if only Wyatt cared about such things. Of course, he did still care about putting on the mack for this picture.