sisters and sons

my best friend (who happens to be my sister) had her second baby boy, eli, just 15 days after reece was born. this means she is on maternity leave this summer and we are taking full advantage of it.

there have been quite a few days spent letting the big boys play in their backyard while we hang out on the deck with the babies and make sure everyone gets fed at the right time.

the beauty of being at one of our houses is that everyone can lay down for a nice afternoon snooze.
for the big boys,

the babies,

he IS my child!

and (if we're lucky) the mommies too. although, we usually end up with little ones who catch wind of the possible all-house nap and ring their dinner bells. oh well. we both know all too well how quickly these days, weeks, months, and years fly by and we have no problem slowing down and relishing every moment with our sons.

january fun

normally, january in minnesota means sledding, shoveling, snowman building, bundling up, and all other things winter. minus one good snowstorm early in the the month...

we've have a serious lack of snow.  we've had to improvise on ways to beat the cabin fever that is inevitable once the post-holiday season sets in.  luckily, we had no trouble finding fun in our community.

starting with pip squeaks - an adorable (and CHEAP) indoor play place for little ones.  what can be better than a gymnasium full of toys followed  by a kid friendly lunch at mcdonalds?

there has been plenty of living room fun around here:

puny pirates v. captain hook (the cap'n didn't stand a chance):

reading books to our stuffed friends:

dress up:

making breakfast:

celebrating a special little one year old:


SIDE NOTE: back in december, henry managed to ram into the upholstered arm of our living room chair. we noticed immediately that his front tooth had pushed back slightly. I was terrified that it was going to fall right out and my sweet (not yet) 2 year old would be left with a gaping hole in his smile for the next 4-5 years. lucky for us, it stayed intact...but did begin to discolor a few weeks later. here you can see that it's now a lovely shade of gray.

the dentist said there's a chance it will lighten up a bit, but we aren't holding our breath. we just figure it's a battle scar and shows how "brave" our little climber is. gotta love that big ol' smile!

it's rachel

if you're not familiar with the Signing Time video series and you have children, I would highly suggest you check it out here. we were blessed to have these when miles was a baby and I credit them for aiding in both of the boys' early language skills. when miles was around 7-8 months old he signed 'milk' and 'more' for the first time. he soaked up those first videos like a sponge and was soon signing a good 50-75+ signs by the time he was 15 months old. when henry was born, nana and papa bought him the baby signing time dvds (check it out here!) and we fell in love. they are full of music and teach the basic signs for little ones. because of this, the bug has taken to signing like a little pro. he picked it up really easily and it became a regular part of his communication with us at an early age. now, at 16 months old, he says 80+ words, some 2-word phrases, is beginning to count to 10, and still signs when he's unable to say the words he needs.

imagine my excitement when I found out that the rachel coleman, co-creator and star of signing time, would be performing in the twin cities. as an added bonus, she was bringing her daugher, leah, and froggy sidekick, hopkins along for the show. so...six VIP tickets, four hours in the car (round trip), and a couple of autographs later we were home with three very happy boys. thank you, rachel, for helping us teach our sons how to communicate. you rock!

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.