two!

Tomorrow is the big day. 

two. years. old. 

I love the twinkle that seems to be constantly in his eyes. 

Everything is exciting - going to the park for the 52nd time, seeing a puppy on the sidewalk, even helping me unload groceries is like Christmas morning to him. 

 Keeping up with him makes me feel old, but seeing the world through his eyes makes me feel like a kid again. 

He adores his little brother. 

He loves to "read";

 actually loves anything to do with letters and numbers. 

He has known them for months now without much teaching (though much thanks to Sesame Street and gang!) and points them out everywhere we go. He sees them in spaghetti noodles, half-eaten cheerios ("c!"), shadows.....literally, everywhere. 

He also has quickly learned his colors, his favorite so far being orange (like his dad). 

And sports? Where do I begin in describing how much he loves anything to do with a ball?! 

and trucks, cars, motorcycles....anything with wheels......

It is a morning ritual to watch trucks back into the alley outside his window - trucks that Bryan and I loathe (beep....beep....beep,  at 6:30 in the morning). 

Though most little boys may tell you "vroom...." when asked what a truck sounds like, our little city boy says "beep....beep...beep".  

and a car? "honk, honk". 

 Yes, a NY city boy. 

I know he is 2 by the way he likes to do things all by himself. 

yet I still get glimpses of my little baby. 

Thus far he is very much an extrovert - waving and saying "hi" to everyone on the street and trying to play with every child at the park. Where did that come from?

 I pray he is always unconditional with his love. 

One thing I do know, is my love will always be just that~

unconditional. 

head-over-heels I am, 

never to be righted. 

Happy birthday to you! 

Charlie

In Memory

of the curls ~

Don't be mad at me. It had to be done. 

I knew it was time to cut his precious curls when I found myself wetting and scrunching his hair before we went out anywhere. It was either that, or the crazy mullet that you have seen pictured many times. 

The actual snipping was easy but I still - weeks later - find myself looking at him thinking, 

who is this little boy?

Where did my baby go?!

Yet I do think the curls will be making an encore performance....

What are little boys made of?

"frogs and snails 

and puppy dog tails....."

but they like to give their mommy's flowers. 

I'm at a loss....

thank you, Handel

I wasn't kidding about the Hallelujah chorus. 

The glorious weather we had this past week was a much, much, needed break in the cold and wind that has been "Spring" so far here. Though we have had a few bits of sun here and there, I've been nursing a severe case of Spring Fever for quite some time. Another resident Southerner told me when we first moved, "you are going to be really ticked when you are still putting hats and gloves on your kids in April!". 

Yet I think, like many things in life, all the grey makes me appreciate the yellow and orange even more. 

When we had our first real Spring-like day I couldn't pack the boys up and get out the door for a walk fast enough. We had only taken a few steps when I realized that Charlie was sharing in my joy. "Yedo fa-fa!! (yellow flower), boo fa-fa!!  (blue), ed fa-fa! (red), pu-pu fa-fa!! (purple)......and "geeeeeeen!!!". 

"for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth....."

Can you hear it too? Or does it take a few months of sleep-deprivation, lots of spit-up and laundry, a toddler and four walls to open your ears? 

It's back to cold and grey today, but for now I'm reminiscing about our weekend....

We didn't want to waste any time in the car, so we just went to a local, but gorgeous, park. 

Charlie didn't care about the playground, thankfully. It was unshaded,  and apparantly we don't know how to dress for warm weather anymore. 

but he did want to run. 

and run...

and would have ran the whole time, if it wasn't for my fun-squelching motherly instincts ~

I didn't think we would be able to sit down for lunch, but we found a t-ball game and Charlie was in awe (and shirtless, but I'm getting to that) ~

I didn't bring any cooler clothes, so I just started with the shoes...

but the shirt followed. I hope our roots weren't too obvious ~

We were so bummed that the ice cream truck left just as we were digging in our pockets for change. Charlie happily made do with "choc-cat" ~

He also loved all of the dandelions ("yedo fa-fa's"). So much so that he ate 2 the next day! Thankfully we found that they are indeed edible. 

All the running, t-ball watching, dandelion picking, and choc-cat in the heat makes for a sleepy, rosy-cheeked baby

Two, actually. One was asleep the whole time. Until we got home ~ when we thought we finally had a chance to nap. 

didn't happen! 

spring is springing

and my soul is singing the hallelujah chorus. 

last words on four. really.

For the record...

We had Samuel's 4 month check-up this morning. Little guy is 24 3/4 inches, 12 lbs. 11 oz. He seems to spit up as much as goes in, but thankfully he is gaining fine.

He was ticked about his shots - more so than I have ever seen either of the boys. He didn't fully calm down until we got home, even though I had tried feeding him, walking him...everything. I learned that he and I share the not-so-attractive trait of becoming splotchy all over when we cry. I even had to ask the doctor if that was indeed what it was and not a reaction to the shot! Sorry Sam, I would have skipped that gene if I had any control over it. 

Though, through all of that, I may have felt more sorry for Charlie.  He was so excited about going - talking about the doctor the whole way there - but once in the room he became extremely worried. He kept asking "Mom?" (is this ok?) as the doctor was checking Sam out, and then "Mom?" (don't leave me) if the doctor happened to get in between he and I. I held his hand more than I did Sam's. I don't look forward to his upcoming 2 year appointment. eek. 

On a different note, you can mark my words that my boys will learn the Southern charm of opening doors for women. Especially for women with crying babies and a huge limo of a double stroller trying to get through a tiny door all while fighting the bitter wind and cold. geesh. 

four, the outtakes

Baby and I are never really alone, though it may seem so....

There is always someone else just outside the frame. 

or in it~

This was the last "take", due to that little bottom you see in the background falling between the bed and the wall 1.2 seconds later. 

I really thought that crack was smaller. 

four

Before Samuel was born, I was convinced that he was going to look just like his brother. Four months here and I still occaisionally find myself in awe that I have a little blue-eyed powder-puff.

I love it. 

He coos as long as he has ears that will listen, watches his brother's every move, and does this little Sam thing with his hand that kills me every time. 

If you pay him attention he gets extremely excited, smiling from his eyebrows to his toes and bringing his fist to his mouth in a shy(?) sort of way. I've only caught it in this picture, and he snagged the towel along the way~

He is still kicking my tail at night, waking every 2-3 hours, but how could I let this sweet little face cry it out?! 

wrapped around his little finger? 

guilty. 

I thought I knew exhaustion after pulling late nights in college. 

Then a few years later I had a baby and laughed at my former idea of "tired".  

Now I think of my first few months with Charlie as restful! 

I'm amazed at the grace given to new moms. 

thank you. thank you. 

Easter

There is so much to say about all that went on in my heart this weekend that pictures of Easter baskets do not do justice. But as I began to tap it all out I realized it was going to eat up all of my precious nap time (the kind of nap time where I don't actually take a nap, if you know what I mean). Maybe I'll get back to it, maybe not, but until then.....

Easter baskets, coordinating outfits and good food.  

This is the one picture I got of the boys and their Easter baskets before my camera died. We also videoed (is that really a word?) it, and I laughed while watching later - not because of the boys but because of the conversation Bryan and I were having in the background. "So, what do we do?......are we supposed to say anything?.......do we just give it to them or what?". I guess we need to have some Easter Bunny conversation before next year. 

I'm not sure if it was more fun watching Charlie's excitement, or Sam's excitement over Charlie's excitement. 

Say that five times fast. 

I had dreams, as usual, of great family pictures at the harbor  in our Easter duds (that I scrambled together from our closets) but, as usual, a quick snapshot had to do. though thankful for it! This was taken at a friends house just as we realized Charlie had a huge choking hazard of a fig in his mouth. 

We enjoyed a fantastic meal with friends. 

Five courses, each plated, each enjoyed to the last bite. 

You know it was a good meal when it is finished with panna cotta!  

mmmm....thankful. celebratory. full.

diaper butts

It probably seems that my boys must run around naked all the time around here. 

almost. 

but not quite. 

I just like to take pictures of them in their diapers because to me it speaks so much about this phase of life I am in. that they are in. 

Two diaper butts, two pot-bellies, four rubber band wrists, and four chubs (as I so affectionately like to call their thighs). 

Hundreds of swish-shwoosh-swish crinkles I hear throughout my day as Charlie's inhabited diaper runs past my knees. 

I never want to forget that sound. 

Who knew I could get so sentimental over diapers???

This post was originally intended to be about brothers.

As I was changing Samuel one day I thought his doughnut thighs were especially cute so I grabbed my camera, stripped Charlie down as well and let them play on the bed. Charlie was beyond thrilled. 

Maybe if it was more planned I would have brushed his hair? Nah. 

*that is, indeed, Sam's crazy belly button. It is an umbilical hernia, which is already disappearing.

He smothers him with "love", so I have to direct him ~ gentle tickles, kisses, and high-fives. 

He also loves to mimic him.....

and share...

and mimic Bryan and I by getting in his face with googly talk ~

I can't believe I had my camera when he decided to grab Sam's hand and pray with him. I only knew what he was doing because he  loves when we pray at dinner (reminding Bryan if we, umm......skip it). I don't think Sam minded that it was a mumbled "thank you for the meal...".

You may think this all looks a little...

dangerous? 

I guess I don't need to explain why all of these are blurry and out of focus, but let me see...one hand on camera, one hand referee-ing, one super-excited toddler and one innocent bundle of a baby. 

I'm sure he is questioning my judgement here ~

last shot!

No worries. Baby was rescued. 

And then Daddy came home (previous post).