De-stressing...

This kid has it rough...

Spring Glory

Our Spring is full.
My babies are growing.
Life is good. No, it is better than good.
I will work to find the word that can describe our "better than good". Not sure if it exists...


They feel loved.
They know they are the best thing that ever happened to me, because I tell them, lest they forget.
They exude confidence, joy and bliss from every pore.

I see the future in them.
I want to bottle up their bliss and save it for the hard days
I want to stop time in these moments and hold onto the joy.

This one needs me.
He clings more lately.
I savor and struggle with it in equal measure...

There is good in these boys.
I see it growing.
Our family's future is safe in their sweet little hands.

Even if sometimes it feels a bit sticky.

Enjoying the Small Things...

As a tribute to my favorite blog on the internet. I decided to fill this with my own "small things" I have been enjoying around here lately.

Watching them play together:
This has been huge growth around here. They seek each other out. They come up with games to play together. Mostly it goes well...



Our Garden:
Watching our tomatoes, peas, cucumbers and other vegetables starting to take off. I can hardly wait for the harvest...


Glimpses of the future:


He so looks like he is checking his hair in the rear view mirror. It is like fast forwarding him about 14 years. Heaven help me...

Day trips with my boys:
Legoland....Sea World...filling up our adventure bank a bit. Watching them brave new situations and circumstances and being so proud of how they are growing and how brave they both are.





And every now and then being suprised by how smart my babies are. On this day my child identified by sight the Eiffel Tower. I guess all those hours of Little Einstein viewings have paid off somehow, because I know I have not been working on world landmarks!



Days warm enough for a splash park:
It does not get much better than this on a hot day. Splashing and playing. I wish there were more like this close to our house.

Seeing Bravery as it forms and learning to rise to the occasion:
Watching this little man brave the unknown. As we could not all ride together at Legoland, he put on his brave face, followed the rails of the que and climbed to the top of the big slide while carrying his own mat that was twice the size he was. And with a little nudge from the worker up top as momma watched anxiously from below, he was on his way...He rode the dropping thing...and all the while, he was so proud of how brave he was. And so was I.

And proceeded to be brave 8 times more, every time a little more confident, a little better at laying his mat down. By the end, all he needed was the nudge. His bravery exceeds his height. He runs up to every roller coaster wanting to ride looking at me with anxious eyes from beneath the measuring stick, breaking my heart to tell him "not yet". Nearly every day he stretches and stretches his legs and up to the sky and tells me he is getting "taller for ride the roller coaster". We have a trip to Disney World in June. I am hopeful we hit 40" so he can do most of the thrill rides. He is so ready. Only an inch and and a half to go...growth spurt? Packing platform sneakers for a toddler. It may come to that. He is ready. So ready. And this time, so am I.

And don't even get me started on how much he loved THIS!


And the airplanes...his world was complete...


The Spring Party Circuit:
Dinosaur Party...awesomely fun and clever...on a glorious spring day - Happy Birthday Kaleb!






And an adorable Elmo party with the most charming decorated table with yummy kiddie munchies...Radley took to that right away...Happy Birthday Jacob!

And I love the splashes of creativity...just fantastic. And now I have a strange desire to carve fruit for a party soon...LOL


Are these not the cutest??? Loving the fruit loops in the bowls.

And the boys had so much fun. I am also loving the 3 hour nap that they took after...

Radley took a liking to trying on all the shoes left outside of the jumper. The shoe fetish is still going strong.


Maverick and his buddy David giggling together to hold the iguana. So blasted cute!


My photo muse...loves when he loves to pose for momma's camera.
And as he tells me multiple times day...."Momma, I love you so much"....turning me into a pile of mush. I am in trouble if he chooses to hold on to that trick into teenage-dom. It is futile to resist the charm.




Babies first big boy swing:

He was so proud...

Evening swims:




And there you have it....Enjoying the Small Things...Kelle Hampton style.
Have a great weekend!