world's best job

there are plenty of jobs I'd like to try my hand at. but none of them would ever be as fulfilling, rewarding, or difficult as being a mom. I'm constantly trying to make sure that I'm making the best choices I can make as a parent. I try hard to keep the over-analyzing to a minimum and not be too hard on myself when those moments come when I know the mom-of-the-year-award is certainly not going to be awarded to me. I am content knowing that I'm doing the very best I can. after all, I've gotten to learn from watching some of the most amazing moms this world has ever known.

I'm still not sure what kyle and I did to have been blessed with these gifts...and they are definitely gifts. I read a quote the other day that said "children are made by mommy and daddy, but created by god." how true.

so I thank Him for blessing me with the job of motherhood and I gladly take on all of the responsibilities that come with such an amazing title. for at the end of the day, I am the one who gets to proclaim that I am their mommy.

buds

there is something about the newness of spring. the way that the grass comes back to life after lying dormant all winter, the plump green buds on the ends of delicate twigs that are ready to burst; everywhere you turn there is new life springing up.

in many ways, this newness transfers to my soul. it rejuvenates me and makes me want to bust out into my best "downward facing dog" yoga move that has become a thing of the past for me, but a thing of the present for the bug.

I'm happy to finally shed the heavy blanket that is the post-christmas/pre-spring season. the sun is rising earlier, staying up later and so are we. we are ready for the sunshine, ready for the backyard baseball games, ready for the park, we are ready.

this year we have taken advantage of the safe harbor in my sister and her husband's backyard. the kiddos can run around freely and I don't have to have a coronary every time they wander too far back. let me just stress that it's a well deserved freak out session. I'm certain I am not the only momma who would worry about the river that runs behind our house...didn't think so. my sister's, on the other hand, is fully fenced in and allows for the mommies and daddies to relax on the deck whilst we take in the activity of our little boys. bliss.

we picked our first batch of rhubarb with beth and seth. it's encouraging to see our boys learning to grow things and see how it becomes food for our family. clearly this particular food will need a substantial addition of sugar.

josiah opted for popcorn. henry opted for sand.

occasionally there are nights when we play longer than planned, build one too many sand castles, and manage to smear a fair amount of ketchup into our hair. all of which require a quick dip in the bathtub and a borrowed set of clean clothes. this works out beautifully for henry, but results in quite the fashion statement for miles. (hat and sandals = ours, pjs and coat = definitely NOT)

it is the magical evening light spilling in through the windows that makes me remember why spring is so important. it brings with it a sense of hope and wonder - a little sneak peek at the summer that is just around the corner. oh how we love babies in bathing suits, the smell of sunscreen on soft little cheeks, and get-aways with the ones we love.

but for now we relish in this season of budding. and at this house we celebrate a budding artist.

it surely is a celebration, as he is the one who would rarely pick up a crayon, let alone color on his own. after many pleas of "you do it mommy" and me encouraging him to "try it," he took to the smell of crayola like a moth to the flame. finding it necessary to tear every last bit of paper off the crayon and then stop to twirl it around in his fingers and comment on how pretty it was.

check out the green crayon...that's an "H" baby...for henry, of course!

which, of course, was promptly followed by tears when it easily snapped in two. that's what wrappers are for, big guy. oh well!? I am happy to see him branching out and feeling confident enough to be creative. he's a gentle, shy, smart little boy and he's gonna do great things.

(there's a tangent I didn't expect to break off into...more about our first born and his big day soon)

I'll leave you with these images from our recent day at the park. spring has definitely sprung.

three.

don't ask me where the last three years have gone...I have no idea. somehow my precious newborn baby has transformed into a little boy. I can't even say he's a toddler anymore; he's officially a preschooler. seriously. I am not ready for this.

every time I mention that miles is growing up too fast, kyle feels the need to step in and say that he's going to be heading off on the school bus with his lunch box soon. to which I glare at him and respond with a firm, "he is not. knock it off." but I know that these years are flying by and I'm grateful for every moment I get to be his mommy. I cherish every time I can cradle him in my arms and rock him. I take an extra moment to smell his blonde hair and kiss his soft cheeks. I know that these opportunities are fleeting and I want to capture them in my heart and never, ever forget what he was like when he was little.

miles is just the right combination of kind-hearted patience and snippy-spunky attitude. he is a sponge when it comes to learning new things and we are always impressed with his love of books and amazing memory. he adores his baby brother and it's not unusual to see him stoop down to hug him...it's also not unusual to see him shove the little bug on the ground. he is three, after all.

he has inherited shy-ness from his daddy and mommy - poor kid didn't stand a chance! and while I expected him to be a little nervous ....or gasp! even plug his ears when we sang to him on the morning of his birthday, I wasn't prepared for this:

the little man was terrified! he slumped to the ground and screamed when our little family of four started in with our, albeit slightly off-key, rendition of Happy Birthday. either we sang it that bad or he was that embarrassed. I'm going to hope it was the latter. poor miles.

we stopped right away and managed to get him to come off the floor and enjoy the traditional birthday breakfast. usually it's waffles, but our four year old waffle maker has apparently taken quite a beating and stopped working on may 22nd at exactly birthday breakfast time. lovely. pancakes it was!

we wanted to be sure that his birthday party celebrated the magic and wonder of his third year. this year he has continued to love super why. he carries around his little stuffed whyatt wherever he goes and, although the collection of stuffed animal friends is increasing exponentially, super why remains his favorite. we thought it only fitting to throw a Hip Hip Hooray! birthday party!

the weather did not look promising, but we set up in the garage in hopes that we could avoid cramming 30+ people into our little house. it would be doable, but not very comfortable.

this was by far the easiest party I've done so far. not much to say considering it's only my fourth, but it was pretty simple. to see the inspiration for miles' outfit, click here. I went easy on the food and light on the decorations. miles had requested "something fruity" for his birthday party dessert.  so after picking an un-godly amount of rhubarb a few days earlier, we settled on a yummy (super simple) rhubarb crisp.  but what kids party is complete without an actual cake? I baked an orange cake (fruity, remember?) and made a giant blue book. given the fact that we have a variety of super why! toys already, I decided to employ them in the decor of the cake. that + my already owned blue/green platter = VOILA!

as usual, my trusty team assembled to help me with the final touches on sunday morning. we wouldn't have been ready without them!  I kept the menu simple and played off of the characters miles loves so much.

the kids, young and old, enjoyed playing outside and taking in the warm spring weather.

although most of the kiddos were too little for very many games, we did play a simple game that involved the little ones looking for "super letters" and then assembling back at the "clubhouse" to figure out the "super story answer" on the "super duper computer" - super!

callan supervised.

I was so excited to pass these adorable little favor boxes out to the wee guests...too bad I totally forgot.

miles chose presents before cake (good work, three year old) and once again he was spoiled by everyone. his big cousins, nick and ellie, (actually, they are my cousins - so does that make them his 2nd cousins or his 1st cousins once removed? who knows? who cares?) stepped in to help deliver gifts and oversee the present opening session. nice job.

henry "picked out" some toy story gifts and a little einsteins singing birthday card. miles was thrilled. I think this introduction to all things disney is a sure sign that your child is growing up. I swore I wouldn't buy character themed clothing, but it makes this little guy ecstatic so I caved.

given the debacle at breakfast I decided to ask him if he would like everyone to sing to him. he was quick to say NO and said it made him feel sad. we opted instead to just say "happy birthday miles!" crisis averted.

at precisely 2pm the sky darkened, clouds thickened, wind picked up, and rain drops were imminent. according to the weather guy we were about to be pummeled by hail. you have never in your life seen an outdoor party get picked up so fast. the tables were cleared, garbage thrown away, children whisked indoors, borrowed furniture stowed into SUVs, and guests gone all in a matter of 15 minutes. the few of us left were ready to hunker down. but alas the weather guy was wrong. crazy huh? there was a short period of showers and then it was over. so much for a new roof from american family insurance. darn. at the end of the party, we felt fortunate that our baby boy could celebrate his big day surrounded by an amazing extended family. he is so loved and a lucky little boy...almost as lucky as his mommy and daddy.