All grown up

you are four now and you seem so grown up. you love to color and to paint. you love videos and fruit snacks. you make your brother laugh like no one else can. i cherish the times when you still remind me that you love me. best of all i love it when you smile. your smile warms my heart.

Let the games begin...

Memoral Day weekend is complete (and we made it to the Beach!...more about that later) so its time to start summer activity planning. As the second summer of being home with the kids begins, I am on the hunt for fun, and hopefully educational, things for the boys and I to do. On the fun side would definitely be the pool and what better way than for FREE! Our Kids, a local blog for activities, is giving away a family 4 pass to Cameron Run! This is a pool we have frequented in the past and I just know that Cole would love it. Hopefully he'll be brave enough to attempt the slides but if not, the kid area alone will definitely consume him...and maybe momma can get a moment to soak in a few rays too.

Bittersweet endings...and some fun too!

Cole's last day of preschool was this week. I am terribly sad about this. That's not to say that I am not looking forward to our move ~ whenever that happens ~ but I am not sure that we'll EVER find a preschool that will ever be as wonderful. Their focus is just right ~ play. The staff is wonderful. They are there because they want to be and there is very little turnover. The director herself, Chris, sent her children to this school. Alas, all good things come to an end and to end the year there was a traveling petting zoo with the cutest baby bunnies I have ever seen.
We've also spent some time recently meeting new baby girl Autumn Le, the precious package of our dear friends Shea, Chris and Mason, as well as, attempting a family outing to go strawberry picking. I grew up going on adventures to pick fruit and I thought the boys (well one of them at this point) would enjoy this....guess Cole is a little too young to appreciate it yet! There were farm animals there too so I suppose he enjoyed that part. Cole's school also celebrated his birthday complete with cookie monster cupcakes. I had a lot of fun making them :)

May Daze

I'm feeling the pressure lately that I haven't been writing here consistently...or doing Cole's 4 year old photo album or Brooks' baby album. How are moms supposed to keep up with it all? I haven't even mentioned that I have yet to take either of their pictures for the birthday milestones! That's a big one for me. I want so badly to hold on to this cute age that each of them is at because truthfully they aren't so cute to me when they get to be 12...15....maybe I'll change my mind later.

The amazing thing is that when I tally up what we've been doing it's a little bit of nothing. We've been enjoying the spring weather~yesterday we had to be out of the house for an open house so we went to Old Town for lunch (yummo burger and fries at the Burger Joint) then had a leisurely walk down King Street to the waterfront, where we sat on the dock and admired the amazing view and considered how lucky we are to live in such a wonderful place. Cole and Craig went on a ship docked there called the Peacemaker...pretty neat, which reminds me I need to look up whether that ship does a Pirate lunch or something similar. Pap and Grandma came to visit on Saturday and Grammie came the previous week, all to present Cole with his birthday gifts. We are so lucky to have such wonderful family in our lives.

Brooks has been battling a fever over the past few days and yesterday a rash appeared. Could this be the all too familiar Roseola that plagued us about this time during Cole's first half of life? Looks awfully similar. Brooks continues to do his flip trick...not to be confused with Cole's flip trick, the one where he puts on his own jacket...but the one where Brooks goes from his back to his front to his back :) He is also working really hard on sitting up all by himself...nearly there. It is crazy for me to think that only a month of so from now he could be crawling! All of this makes me want invent a pill, a machine, SOMETHING that can slow time down a little...just a little. Really. Couldn't we all use a little of that?

Four is Fabulous!

Oh my....four years old! I think from here on out I'm going to name EVERY post "Where has the time gone?" because isn't that all I write about anyway? We are keeping Cole's birthday low key this year. A small celebration at Nanny's and cupcakes at school. I think tonight we'll go to First Thursdays in Delray and treat Cole to some frozen custard from The Dairy Godmother. Four years has gone by so quickly and when I look at Cole from day to day I can hardly believe just how big and mature he is. Every once in a while I'm able to step away from a situation and try to see it from the outside and only then does he seem little to me. I cherish those times because it gives me a different view of him.

Happy half-birthday

My littlest sweet pea is 6 months old already! At 6 months and 1 day, Brooksy decided he'd try out the ole' rollin' over trick...finally. He now seems to want to try it out incessantly. I suppose if I had such a neat, new trick that I'd try it out a lot too! Still no teeth on the horizon but a whole lot of slobberin' going on :) Brooks also had his 6 month check up today. Our little "porker" is 15 pounds! Oh how I love those chunky little thighs.

Bonding Time

I always find myself commenting how quickly time is flying and this spring is no different. Brooks is about to turn 6 months and Cole is almost 4 years old. Where has it gone? I am thankful daily to have this time with the two of them. Many days I am at my wits end by the time Craig is home from work but occasionally there is a day that I can truly enjoy the two of them. Today was one of them. We played, we laughed and we enjoyed being together.
Cole is saying the funniest things lately. This weekend he explained, while I was driving, that God had painted his fingernails pink. I thought he was trying to tell me that he and Emmy had gotten into nail polish and he was blaming it on God! Instead he was just telling me how the skin under his nails got to be pink :) Such innocence.

Brooks is the good, sweet-natured baby that Cole never was. I'm not saying Cole was bad...just difficult and I am so happy that Brooks is different. I love to hold him and hear him giggle, to caress his sweet features, and to kiss him. This past week he has started to babble a lot..."da da da" all the time! I am battling whether I am ready to give up the night time feedings. I think he is ready...but am I? You think I would do anything to get a full nights sleep but those late night sessions are so special and he is so sweet and innocent and beautiful when he is on the edge of sleeping. I ran into two women today that stopped me to ask how old he was. They too had sons, except they were now in college. Both said to enjoy the time...and I plan to, with both my boys :)

Happy Easter

Oh what fun we are going to have this year with two little men to dress up! Mommy is all ready....cute hats (who says girls are the only ones with cute hats for Easter!), bunny ears, and Cole's favorite, candy! Happy Easter everyone. We hope your day is as special as ours.

the Third wheel

I am constantly in amazement at just how much time these two love to spend together. No matter that they see each other 2 days a week at school...no matter that they spend the entire day together on Thursdays at maw-maw's house...and no matter that Cole and Emory see each other on Monday mornings (to catch up after the weekend away from each other)and Wednesday evenings for dinner at Nanny's, they just can't seem to get enough of one another. I'm just thankful that our move won't put them far from one another and hopeful that Brooks and Breon-Leigh will have a fraction of what Cole and Emmy have...now if those pesky siblings would just stay out of their way so they could play!

Big Boy Brooks

Brooksie is 5 months old! We've dabbled in rice cereal, we're attempting to perfect nap times but mostly we're having fun. Brooks is nearly 15 pounds now and has the cutest, chunky thighs I have ever seen. I'm mostly infatuated with his thighs because Cole never had an extra ounce on him. Personality wise, you just can't help falling in love with him. He's such a happy baby. I just love to hear him coo and giggle. The rougher Cole tends to be with him, the more he laughs and squeals. They are going to be great playmates, I can already tell.

In like a Lion..

Wow, March! Where did February go? Despite our lack of posting, we have had a busy month. Crazy winter weather...2 BIG snow storms this year and several smaller ones...have forced us inside, much more than we prefer to be. We've spent much of this time going to lots of playdates. Cole and Emory can't seem to get enough of one another. They also seem to pass every sniffle and sneeze back and forth to one another and that's on top of us passing it back and forth within our own house! I'm so tired of being sick :( Poor Brooks has slept more in his carseat carrier at night than he's slept in the Pack n Play.

All of that being said we have seen signs of Spring! Cole and I took a walk this past weekend and actually saw a crocus blooming and yesterday when we drove home after preschool there were a million (literally) Robins feasting in our neighbor's front yard. Sure signs that better weather is on the way...I hope!

Happy Valentine's Day

Wow, mid-Feb already! The last few weeks have been a blur. We've been in the midst of the most crazy weather pattern since I can remember in the DC area. We're up to 40+ inches of snow this year from 2 major storms. The latest of the two sent us packing for a no-snow zone, so we went to visit Scott and Allison in Chesapeake. Luckily when we headed back up to DC, the roads were clear and our wonderful neighbors had shoveled our driveway! Thanks Mike and Phuong :) A small snow, 5 or so inches, followed a day or two later but that seemed like a piece of cake after the big ones. Cole and Craig enjoyed going out to play in it, attempting to build a fort and a snowman (not wet snow so it wasn't successful). Cole missed an entire week of preschool as a result. All that being said we are more than anxious to get out of the house especially since we seem to be passing a winter cold back and forth to one another. I cannot wait till the spring in hopes that we will no longer be sick and we can get outside ~ sans jackets!

Losing Letters...Have you seen me?

I am specifically speaking of the letters "m-y" and "d-y", as in the ends of the words Mom and Dad. This past weekend Cole graduated to calling Craig and I "dad" and "mom". No more cutesy mommy or daddy business. He has no particular explanation as to why. It is what it is. I simply stare in amazement and as usual wonder where did my little man go? Is 3.5 the new 20? I'm not ready to be mom! I suppose MOMS simply have to live in the past.....he was (okay he still is) so cute when he was little...........

A letter to Brooks

Dear Brooks,

I am very sorry for allowing you to fall off the bed today. There really is no excuse why I turned my back on you for even one second. I understand why you were so sensitive the rest of the day and needed to be held. I would have done anything just to make sure that you were alright. Your smiles and belly laughs at the end of the day made me know that you were alright and that you are still your jolly, happy self and I am so thankful. Good night sweet darling...may your dreams be filled with happy thoughts.

From the bottom of my heart,
Your Mommy Forever

All Smiles

Brooks has finally discovered that he can smile and coo and he seems to do them non-stop! The best morning so far has been one when he woke up and laid in the pack-n-play and talked to himself for over an hour (while Mommy and Daddy slept in a little!). What a good baby! I continue to attempt to capture just the right photo of him, and his adorable smile, but with the winter weather and the dark interior of our house, the right picture has escaped me thus far.

The last few days have been unseasonably warm. Since it was a gorgeous day, we took a really long walk into Old Town and packed our lunch to eat along the waterfront. Cole enjoyed feeding the ducks and seagulls his leftover PB&J and Craig and I sat and soaked in the warm sunshine.

Who is who?

as Brooks approaches 3 months old, I am continuously amazed about how similar he and Cole look! I decided to put 6 pics of each into a collage and see if even I could tell them apart. Let me say, even I question a couple of the photos and I am the one who took them (not to mention, the one who gave birth to them)! It's amazing how quickly you forget how "advanced" they are at just 3 months. Cole and Brooks' new cousin, Breon-Leigh, was born just a few days ago and Brooks looks like a giant next to her. He also holds his head up, smiles (oh so adorably )and is cooing. I'm not sure at what point babies exit the newborn stage but I feel like it has come and gone overnight.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

Time continues to fly by as the holidays are over (I have to admit I'm a little happy to have them over) and the new year has begun. Two thousand and nine was a joyous year from the perspective of our second son's birth and a very sad year as we lost a very dear friend, Mark Papa, and a family member- my grandmother's brother, Aubrey Glass.

For the coming year we wish for the obvious things to be present in our lives such as health and happiness but honestly our biggest hope and prayer is to have a bigger house. Everything in our lives right now seems to revolve around the fact that our current house is TOO small (at 950 blessed square feet). There is no room for the ever expanding need for baby accessories despite Brooks being ready for them (~exersaucer). There is no room to hold on to toys that are outdated, although Brooks will need them eventually. There are a million other things that have now inhabited the living room, our bedroom, and Cole's room that I can't seem to find a place to put them away so I am left to feel as if the "stuff" is about to eat me alive! Not a good feeling...and so our wish...a bigger, better house where we can host family gatherings, have our parents sleep over when they visit, a place for the boys to play, closets to fit clothing-current and future, a kitchen where I can make cookies AND cook dinner at the same time, but mostly a home where we can be a family together and make LOTS of memories.

O where, O where...

…has my newborn gone? Time is a flyin lately. Brooks is already 8 weeks old and its nearly time for Tiff’s new little one, Breon-Leigh, to be here. We are anxiously awaiting her arrival and hoping that she’ll make her appearance before the end of the year.

Cole ended preschool for the year and so we have been at home filling our time with making holiday cookies, painting ornaments, and doing our holiday shopping. His preschool class put on one adorable show on the last day. Poor Emmy refused to even go up on the stage! Cole surprised us once again by not only participating but also belting out Christmas carols in the loudest voice he could muster.

We have also been to two breakfasts with Santa this season, one at Cole’s school and the other at DC’s Hard Rock Café. Both were chaotic but fun opportunities for Cole to tell the jolly ole’ guy what he wanted for Christmas, but Cole wouldn’t speak a word either time.

Six Weeks

Our little Brooksy hit the 6 week mark today! I'm amazed he has been in our lives for that long, it feels like yesterday that he was still in my belly :) Brooks is doing great and last week when I weighed him he was a whopping 9.5 lbs! Not that I want to make a habit of comparing our two boys but I don't remember Cole hitting the 10 lb mark until much much later! Brooks is much more awake to the world now, spending a lot of his time sitting or laying quietly and checking our his environment. He has a mellow, laid-back personality that I already love! I am hoping we can begin to space night time feedings apart a little but for now he's waking me up every 3 hours with a slight whimper (as if it were impolite to cry in the middle of the night!). Cole loves his little brother and is a huge help. He particularly likes to help with bath time, which Brooks seems to love. He lets out a big sigh everytime we put him in the water.

Thankful

Happy Thanksgiving! We have so much to be thankful for this year. Family is the thing that sticks out most in my mind. I am thankful that everyone has been relatively healthy. I am thankful my dad has found happiness again. I am thankful that I have such a wonderful husband who has supported us financially for an entire year and although not by choice, that I have been able to stay home with Cole. I am thankful that Cole has loved preschool and has blossomed as a result of going. I am thankful to have experienced another pregnancy (with my sis at that!) and the end result was a beautiful, healthy little boy. I'm still not sure our family is complete but it sure feels good for now. I hope everyone has a wonderful day...with their family.