Sullivan | 2.5 years

Another half-birthday in the books.

I love this little tradition we have with the kids.  It's kind of silly, but it's our way of checking in halfway through the year to say to them...

"In case you forgot...we're so glad you were born."  

Plus who doesn't love a reason to celebrate?

I can't believe this is our third half-bday celebration with Sully.

6 months

18 months

2.5 years

The boys' favorite part is, of course, the games.  

They love the foosball table and playing Golden Tee with Dad.

And what's better than nachos and pizza for dinner!

When we were finished eating Sullivan said "My belly happy" :)  I love this kid.

My sweet little fox was there too!  Max made sure he didn't feel left out by giving him some love in between games :)

And speaking of Fletcher...we don't know where we're going to start his half-birthday tradition.  Max has "Max's Diner" and Sullivan has "Sully's Pub".  I'm not aware of any restaurants called "Fletcher's".  Any suggestions?! :)

Sullivan's 1/2 Birthday {2013}

Sullivan's 1/2 Birthday {2012}

Scenes from a Snow Day

I really don't like winter, but there's something exciting about anticipating a 

city-stopping snow storm.   

Inside our cozy home, insulated by the snow, we made many warm memories:

Crock-pot "Hot Chocolate" steel cut oatmeal.  

They cooked all night long and the boys were thrilled to wake up to snow and something special for breakfast.

 They even talked me into letting them put marshmellows on top.  

"It IS called 'Hot Chocolate' oatmeal, mom..."

 Pairs well with "green juice" :)

Sledding.  Or, rather, getting pulled around on the sled.

 Snow painting with Kool-Aid in squirt bottles.  I should have stuck with green, blue and purple colors.  The red and yellow looked a little suspicious in the fresh white snow :)

I wanted Fletcher to experience it too.  I feel bad that this little man has barely seen the light of day since he was born.  Even when we do leave the house his carseat is completely covered to protect him from the cold.  I think he's only experienced fresh outdoor air twice in almost three months.

  

He looks bummed out in this photo, but he was just mad at me adjusting for his hat...

  When I finally stopped messing with him, he smiled and looked up at the sky.  

Baby's first snow.

The boys tired of the cold pretty quickly so we brought some snow indoors to make Snow-Cream.  So simple and it actually tasted good.

 A little sugar, cream, vanilla and 8 cups of fresh snow.

 Mix it up and add some sprinkles on top.  Voila!

After their afternoon nap I asked them if they wanted to go back outside, but they were a little apprehensive since it was still snowing and windy.  

So we decided to have an indoor snow ball fight.

The boys against Dad.

 Yep...they're still wearing their pjs from the night before.  And Sullivan's shirt is still on backwards.  And, as always, he lost his pants at some point during the day.

 Sully trying to carry as many snowballs as he could along with the "airplane"  he made during craft time earlier in the day.

Max kept the fresh beats playing all day long.  My little dj is still loving the Yo Gabba Gabba album he got from Santa :)

It was fun being snowed in together.  

Ok, now spring can come! :)

A Happy Weekend.

Sometimes we have a weekend that is just so good.  No real plans.  No pressure.  Just invitations to hang out.  And eat.  And play.  Those are the best kind of weekends.

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A trip to the country with my city boys...

Friends of ours live about an hour and a half from us.  They have a beautiful piece of land and 4 (FOUR!) boys.  We explored the wide open spaces and introduced ourselves to all of the animals.

This gorgeous old cabin sits behind their home and has a view of the lake.  Parts of it seem to be frozen in time.  I want it.

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Dinner, charades and Candyland with family...

Fletch talking to PopPop.

Fletcher enjoyed his dinner with Uncle Sean after we had a our Mexican feast.

Hanging out with Uncle B.

The cousins love to get together and play games with Mimi.

It really was a relaxing weekend.
The time spent with fresh air, friends and family was good for all of us.

Fletcher | 2 Months

Here we go.  Another month down.

While an average size at birth...Fletcher has grown into a fat little fox-monster.  I shouldn't be surprised.  All of my boys are big.  But seeing my tiny little newborn skip all the way to 6 month clothes has made me feel a bit wistful.

You'd think that with my third child I'd be really laid back, and in most ways I am...the sound of crying doesn't stress me out, every little grunt or sneeze doesn't make me run to his side in a panic.  I don't wake in the middle of the night just to make sure he's breathing.  However, I'm preserving his baby-ness more than I did with the other two.

When Max was a baby he was on the fast track from day one.  I followed all "deadlines" imposed by the baby books...I introduced him to a bottle within the first two weeks, moved him to his nursery to sleep at exactly 12 weeks and encouraged him to walk at 9 months.  Interestingly, the results of all of this can been seen in Max's serious, rule-following personality nearly 4 years later.  I was a bit more relaxed with Sullivan, but still happy to move him along.

With Fletcher, I'm hanging on. It takes everything I have in me to leave him for even an hour or two.  I avoided giving him a bottle in the beginning and now I'm paying the price for it since he's somewhat reluctant to take it at this point.

I've already witnessed how quickly they grow up twice and I've been determined that its not going to fly by this time.  But its already begun.

On the positive side, seeing a little personality emerge as each day passes is one of the greatest prizes of parenthood.  Fletcher has started smiling and getting super excited when he tries to "talk".   And after perfecting the "serious frown" that reminds me so much of Max, he has started getting more smiley each day.  He's finally getting the hang of it! :) Not quite as serious as Max was...not quite as silly as Sullivan was.  He's very much his own person already.

Dear Fletcher,

  I love the person I see when I look into those ink-blue eyes of yours.  We talk.  I tell you all of the ways that we belong together.  Watching you try to get words and sounds out brings me the greatest joy.  Your arms flail wildly as you try to convey how much you love me too ;)  I listen and smile and ignore my to-do list as I soak up every minute I get with the person you are today. Because I know I'll miss you soon.  I know I'll miss this little person who is right in front of me because of all the changes you will undergo in this first year.

You have reshaped our home and our hearts.  You have made your way into every corner of our lives.  Your newness has been exchanged for a comfortable belonging-ness that comes with being a perfect fit.

2 months in and we couldn't love you more.

My whole heart, 
Momma