Tardy Easter

A few dozen moons ago, there was a really big holiday. A holiday so grand, I dare say that it's my favorite. And yet, it slipped through the blog cracks. Between my extra press work (at night) and impending birthdays (that i work on at night), it just didn't yet get recorded. And, so, in the "better late than never" category...

Voila! Easter! He is risen (He still is, you know... a month later).

Super duper fun Aunt Stacey who continually reminds me of what fun I can have with my kids... with her newest sweet pea, Sloan...

And as soon as we got to Grandmama and Pop Pop's house, there was pool time and therefore, pool-hair and ice cream cones. Vacation was instantly grand.

And Daddy, who is always crazy and always, always fun (more on that later) had Fordy laughing on the back lawn...

Which led to days and days of running out there...

Even as soon as everyone woke up, Ford was dragging us out there...

The boys, in the spa...

And our attempt at a cousin picture. This is how well it went. Hurrah for cousins! Maybe next time, they'll look at the camera!

An intense cousin conversation with Abram. I overheard, "And, then, AJ, maybe we can talk and eat our ice cream and then maybe, if we do what our mommy's say we can go back in the water. Would you like that AJ? Would you?" He's gonna make a great hubby because he always just agrees with her as she micromanages everything.

And the night before Easter we had a dinner party for Grandmama. So, here are the guys, looking sharp....

The celebration included balloons, Fordy's favorite thing, and behold, my favorite picture of the weekend -- a balloon sailing away and he and Uncle Ryan waving it away...

But there were more balloons inside...

And when pants fall down, at least the balloon stays up...

And Grandmama arriving dressed to kill in true creative style. Abby was in awe of Grandmama with a "mask" and a tiara.

And while we did not attend church while away from home, we did love and honor Jesus in our hearts. And there was a nice, long, chaotic easter egg hunt. Of course.

"Behold what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called children of God." I John 3:1

874.  the kids truly loving cousin time

875. resort-time in the desert

876. everyone sleeping well while away from home

877. our chickens surviving after 4 days alone

Over The Clothes Hump

In case you haven't heard, Rapunzel lives at our house. Usually I'm the boy, Eugene, and Ford gets to be the horse, which he's thrilled about. This involves singing the songs from Tangled. It's loud. It's off key. It's silly. And you would not want to witness it. Here is typical Rapunzel outfit (it must be purple and from there, anything else goes...)

I'm hesitant to say this out loud, but I think we are done with our girl absolutely positively hating clothes. Maybe it's because she's almost four. Maybe it's because she really had a texture issue and it's starting to fade. Maybe she got tired of crying for 30 minutes every morning when we opened her closet.

Here she is, headband (!), long sleeves (!) -- although always pulled above the elbow, and a cute skirt (that's not falling down!). She's even started wearing socks (that she puts on herself -- quadruple exclamation point) with her princess shoes. This would never have happened 6 months ago.

Even after a day of school, she was dressed (sans headband) and the sleeves were stretched out enough that they were pulled down. And look -- a silly mood! I just had to take a picture.

By the way, here is what Ford does when you ask him to take a picture. Eyes closed. Face scrunched. Where does he get this stuff?

For those of you who don't think we watch sports at our house (okay, we don't) just know that Papa was infusing him with the words "Go Duke!" during the NCAA tourney. And Fordy loved it.

What he does not always love is a haircut from Daddy. Even with lollypop bribery, those clippers are loud. And while his curls were heartbreakingly cute, I love his super cute cut. My little guy is getting so big. So big, that we're going to take away the "BINK!" once he turns two. I'm telling you this so that you'll hold me accountable when I lose my nerve and don't want to suffer through a month of fussing. Perhaps summer fun will help ease the pain.

870. rose and gluten free crackers
871. sprouted kitchen cookbook
872. a kindle book for $3.99
873. not comparing

This Boy

Is this little monkey looking old or is it just me? I am officially saying goodbye to the baby phase. It's so bittersweet.

Not only is he sleeping well (and therefore so are we!) but he's gotten insane when it comes to climbing and jumping. We went to the park with Grandmama a few weeks ago and once we got to the park, I pretty much didn't talk to her again. She was chasing Ford (she had the hard job!) and I was pushing Abby on the swings. The look on her face here says it all... she can hardly contain him. And off he goes....again. He was non stop.

And in his perfect dichotomy, a few hours later, he was picking flowers and quietly eating in the stroller. Sweet monkey. Sweet and crazy. All at once.

And lately he is loving standing at the counter while I put lunch together. It's a constant battle to keep the knives out of reach and to keep Red's nose out of his lunch (as below)...

And I think I just saw his "high school" face....

Recently he's started singing back to me when I put him to bed. "Amazing Grace or Sunshine?" I'll ask. And you never know what he'll pick. Tonight he was tired and mid-song said, "Night, night!" I kept singing and when I laid him down he clapped and said, "Yay!" as in "Mommy, enough singing. Good job! Now let me sleep."

I love this boy. Have I said that recently?

866. an intercom
867. picking up slack for each other
868. no night waking for Abby
869. thinking about birthday fun

Mommy's Big Birthday

Warning! This is a kid-free blog post. What?! I know. Imagine... :)

I had a big birthday recently.  A friend flew in on a big 'ole airplane. Friends drove across the miles and donned sparkly fun.  It was a night where I felt very blessed and very celebrated. And very, very full. (The food was dynamite).

Some of my gals....

Our lovely outdoor table...

Laughter and more laughter....

And how bout that? Grandma and Grandpa were able to be here, too. Super duper special.

And none of it would've mattered without the hubs. Who makes every day brighter. But especially this one.

Psalm 139:16 "...all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be."

862. the perfect cake from the right person on the right day
863. the help of my parents
864. words i'll never forget
865. feeling blessed, cherished and known

Fat and Happy (or Joyful)

The weather has been warmer lately and (shhh! don't tell anyone!) there's been some ice cream in our lives. Now that I've admitted that, I'll tell you that the kids eat ice cream almost every night. That's right. Almost every single night. Yes...it's sugar. But it's also a weight gainer for them and we are all about that. After eating our veggies, of course.

Fordy prefers chocolate.

Abby is after her Papa's (and my) heart...and loves vanilla. Pure and unadulterated. Amen.

And while she's never seen Flashdance, there were hints of that around this house (hairbands as ankle bracelets) and Rapunzel hair, of course.

There was even a date night recently with free babysitting. Yes. Free babysitting. We were so excited. We thought we'd share it with Van Gogh's self portrait on loan down the street.

Today Abby and I decided that yes, we would see who could memorize a bible verse first (always fun to make it a game, right?). Usually she rolls her eyes at these things but she was game today and so, "Rejoice always and pray without ceasing..." was our verse. I think it'll last all week  -- with me constantly remembering that it doesn't matter much if we know it, if we don't apply it. So, this week, we choose to rejoice. Even if toes are stubbed. Even when tears fall. Even when we are less than thrilled with little brother. Yes, even then.

I'll let you know how it goes. But I can guess that it's gonna be a good week... because we'll be choosing joy.

857. memorizing together
858. extra carrot cake
859. showing a profit in my little biz
860. inspiring music
861. the stereo in the kitchen (aka rocking with the dishes)

The Sweet Boy

Sweet Fordy. He's talking up a storm lately. And throwing fits. And arching his back in protest. And saying "noooooo!" often. As well as "o-kaaaay!" He's a wonderful mix of all-boy, climbing and pouncing and going non-stop and a super snuggler. Looking back, I realize at this age that Abby started freaking out about things too. Whew.

On Tuesdays, we go to the child hour at the "big" library. I did this with Abby when she was 2 and she sat next to me the entire time, clapping, interacting, singing, watching as the book was read. Ford hardly sits still, running to the front, running behind the forbidden curtain, giggling at the book the teacher is holding with his face 2 inches from the book. He is becoming.... a constant motion-filled being.

And I'm finally realizing.... I need to spend some time teaching him to sit still.  It's against every fiber in his little being.

Here is the one day that sis got to come along when she wasn't in school and they ended library time by dancing at the front.

And a few times recently, I've actually found him happily playing by himself... that was a glorious moment. I could hear him... "vroom! vroom!" playing with his cars.




And let's be honest, it always pays to be prepared. Even in 75 degree weather.

But especially when you're heading to the slide...going down backwards.

After which you most definitely need a snack. Preferably in the top of the play structure. (I'll do anything to mix it up in order to get them to eat more).

Have I mentioned how much I love this kiss-giving boy?

852. photos from years before
853. seeing another be pampered
854. deep, sound sleep without a wake up
855. abby's shoe collection
856. a love of socks

Blog Shame

Oh, people. I have blog shame. I big, healthy serving of it.

I do hereby swear to update the aforementioned blog more often. Like, more than once a month. Sheesh! What am I doing? Constant laundry?

So, please know.... more is coming soon.  For now, please know that Easter was glorious. Glorious indeed. Especially because I got to spend some good, sunny time with these two hooligans :

848. a resort-like grandma and pop pop house
849. working out the bed situation
850. the cousins loving each other
851. feeling spoiled