Wendy's Words of Wisdom

I really love giving my kids baths. Yes, sometimes by that point at the end of the day I'm tired to my bones. Yes, sometimes I zone out a little and count down the minutes until I can just lay down for a second. But there's just something about watching my babies giggle their heads off as they get clean in the tub that warms my heart, makes me focus on them and effortlessly live in the moment the way I try so hard to do all day long. They just seem so cute and little in there. And I know there will be a day when they're too old for me to help them in this area (maybe it's because Ryan's aunt once started crying helping me bathe them because her children are now young adults and it brought her back). I've also been told that washing away the day helps prevent sickness (not to mention keeps their sheets clean a little longer). So I TRY to bathe them every night.

I always get Wendy out first so I can wrap her up in her hooded strawberry towel and hold her like a baby. This way I can get some one-on-one cuddle time with my un-cuddly child while Harvey splashes around a little longer. While cradling her, wrapped up like a little strawberry burrito, on the bathroom floor the other night, I asked her, "Wendy, will you just stay like this forever? I just want you to stay my little girl forever." Her answer was a whole lot of truth and it slapped me right in the face. 

Wendy: "Sorry mommy, I'm going to grow up. Every day I get a little older. You can't stop it... And I WANT to grow up. I want to be seven, and six, and five. I really want to be five! I want to go to school and have long hair and learn new things. And one day, I'll get married and have babies and you can love on THEM. So you don't have to be sad. But I can't stay like this forever."

Wow. I kid you not, these words came out of my four year old. Out of the mouths of babes, right?

Love notes from my Wendy

Found on a blue sticky note: "I heart u mom."  -Wendy

This totally made my day. It's the little things.

Happy Valentine's Day!

 

HAPPY day of LOVE! I got to spend mine with my children and some of my best girlfriends, Emily and Sharla. Emily decided to throw together a Valentine's tea. She went all out with hot herbal tea, homemade lemon-poppy seed scones, salad, pastries and heart-shaped finger sandwhiches. The table was decorated with cake pedestals, tea pots, and tea cups in the cutest colors. We all lounged around while the children ran around hyper from the candy they had all stuffed themselves with from their school valentine's parties. It was so nice to get out of my house.

*photos by amelia lyon

As for me and my man, our Valentine's tradition is to keep it special but low key. A card, a treat, some flowers, a yummy restaurant and a movie. Just the way I like it. This year he got to pick the restaurant (sushi) and I got to pick the movie (Life of Pi - I like to see all the Oscar nominated films that aren't rated-r before Oscar Sunday. PLUS I read the book and really liked it). Then we always spend our low key Valentines date dreaming up our anniversary getaway for one month later. For our anniversary every year, we pick a city (preferably one we've never been to before) and explore it. This year we decided on Portland, Oregon. Sounds random, but I'm really excited! Some years we go big, like Paris, France. Some years we go small, like Los Angeles. This year we wanted to go medium. We wanted to have to at least get on an airplane. Neither one of us have ever been there. We're going to stay in a RAD hotel called "The Nines," where Clark Gable worked before becoming an actor. We've mapped out some of the things we want to do, but I'd love any suggestions if you have any!

I can't tell you how much I love this man and exploring new places with him.

Valentine's Crafting

*melted crayon on canvas

*"You Melt My Heart," by Wendy & Mommy

The minute Christmas and New Years was over Wendy wanted to know what the next holiday was. She told me, "Mom, do you know what my most favoritest part about holidays are? Well FIRST it's the presents, but my second most favoritest is decorations!" When we were done taking down Christmas she immediately wanted to get out the "Valentine's Day box of decorations," but it didn't exist. I decided we had a month and a half to womp up some decorations. With the help of pinterest and my mom, we filled our daily "quiet times" (Harvey's nap time) with pink and red crafts. I'm a little sad it's over.

*Wendy learning how to use a crochet loom. I put that girl to WORK! Might just open a sweatshop.

I saw this cute wreath on the front door of my aunt Ruth's house last February and fell in love. This literally took us a month and a half to finish, but it was worth it to let Wendy "help". Our couch was half covered in yarn for the whole month of January. Wendy helped me every step of the way. I even taught her how to use a loom to crochet the bow. (For the bow we used the crochet loom to crochet a very short scarf which we folded over, hot glue gunned down the edges, and wrapped the center with yard to make a bow. Kind of like the tutorial HERE - just with a loom instead of a crochet hook for a more voluminous bow).

I let Wendy decide if she wanted to go to the store and pick out some valentine's cards (most likely would have been Hello Kitty, Brave or Tinkerbell) or pick an idea of my Valentine's pinterest folder. These were the Valentines she chose for her class mates. I explained who cupid was and what the arrow meant (she liked the arrow because the princess on Brave is very into archery... oh how Disney princesses are the basis for so many decisions in our lives). She painstakingly signed all 23 cards herself and even added a heart at the end of her name. I love her 4 year old signature so much!

My mother-in-law saves EV.ER.Y.THING. We all tell her she has a hoarding problem. She's even got a room in her house that she has named "The Hoarder Room," which was Ryan's bedroom throughout his life. It's now full of stuff with a walkway cleared through the middle. She can't part emotionally with anything her children ever made or drew on, so she often sends Ryan's old stuff home with me. I'm talking math tests from 3rd grade that he failed. So I take these things home for her and they go straight into my trash or goodwill pile. Let me correct that, I'm not completely heartless, sometimes I take a picture of the item and then throw it in the trash. But when she sent this one home with me, I decided to keep it to add to our empty box of Valentine's crafts. I think she said Ryan made it when he was 10 years old. I hope I don't catch the hoarding virus because of it. I'm happy that we've started our V-day decoration collection and that we have some stuff we can pull out year after year.

Mixed Emotions

When I arrived at my in-laws house to pick up my children after a long day at work, Wendy was beaming. She was so excited to show me her new trick: grandpa had taught her how to tie her own shoes! It slapped me in the face and made me re-think my life. All at once I felt proud, overwhelmingly gratitude and ...and (I guess the only way to describe it would be) sadness. I was so proud of her careful determination and drive to get it right. I felt overwhelming gratitude for a child who is developing at a healthy rate, for the chance that I get to watch her grow and discover the world around her, for in-laws who take such wonderful care of my children while I can't. But then... I felt a sting. The sting of sadness that she is growing up too fast. And selfishly sad that it wasn't me who taught her. 

I guess as far ahead as she is, I'm just as far behind. I wouldn't have even tried to teach her for another year or so... maybe when I noticed all my friends teaching their kids her age or a note came home from school suggesting it was time. It makes me feel like a lazy, disconnected parent. So I'm not going to underestimate her anymore. Maybe tomorrow I'll teach her how to drive stick.

Back to school...

Next time school starts back up, my first born baby will be in KINDERGARTEN! The thought is depressing and exciting to me all at once. 

*Harvey was not too excited for his big sister to leave him, so she comforted him... and then she "helped him" put his smile on for the picture below. I can't get over how funny he looks!

What did I do before these two came into my life?

Harvey Jay turns 18 Months old!

*I adore these images by Amelia Lyon. Harvey is 18 months &2 weeks old in them. 

Harvey Jay at 18 Months:

• 30 lbs (92nd percentile)
• 34 1/2 inches tall (92nd percentile)
• this kid is so big that when he's sitting next to his sister in my side-by-side double stroller, strangers ALWAYS ask me if they're twins. (Wendy gets a little perturbed, because she's "SO much bigger than him!")
• current vocabulary: "mom, momma, mommy", "aaaaeeee" = daddy, "uh-ohhhhhh," "eh-eee" = wendy, "baawlll" = ball, "oh" = no, "aaa" = yeah, "hi," "bye," does the sounds of all farm and zoo animals, but his FAVORITE word is "ighth" or "eye-th." We don't know what it means but he says it all the time. He even says it after someone sneezes like he's saying, "Bless you."
• Favorite Show: Fresh Beat Band & Yo Gabba Gabba
• this kids wasn't quite walking when he hit the 18 month mark. (he's got a lot of weight to move around). So... I decided I had to work with him. Like, teach him how to walk. I always thought it would just come naturally. It only took a week and now he has the cutest little waddle. His knees are turned out and lifted a little too high (almost like he's marching). Soon he'll be running and I might regret the extra push I gave him to walk.

• he is INFATUATED with books. he loves to grab a book off of Wendy's book shelf, crawl into my lap, and cuddle up to me while I read it to him. His face lights up and he "oohs" and "aahs" and points to the different pictures as I mention them. He would let me sit and read books to him all day. I've even caught him in Wendy's room, sitting up on her bed, just looking through a stack of books.
• one of my favorite moments with him every day is when I get to put him down for his nap/bedtime. He cuddles up to me in our comfy green rocking chair in his nursery, I cradle him like a newborn baby and cover him with his favorite, velvet-soft, pale blue blankie. I read him a book or two and then sing him the 1st verse of "You Are My Sunshine," and hum the 2nd verse before laying him down in his crib and quietly shutting the door behind me. He has recently started singing with me. It just makes me melt. He mumbles the melody and mimics the sounds with his pacifier hanging out the side of his mouth. He scrunches up his eyes and nose when we sing the word "happeeeee." It chokes me up, I love it so much.