caught red handed

Becks has always found pleasure and excitement with Toby's water bowl. I am constantly telling him to leave it alone. I can't blame him though; a bowl of water at his level to splash in?!?! The other evening I heard some rustling around over there and said, Beckham, what are you doing over there?...are you getting into toby's water? He replied, Naaaoooohhh! His way of saying no. I looked over and saw what he was up to...

He was caught red handed, with a mouth FULL of dog food. It's not like I'm starving him! I told him to spit it out, but it was too late.

He proceeded to say, mmmmm, nummy nummy!!! I couldn't believe he had actually just eaten an entire bite of mushy dog food. Disgusting. I moved him away from it and he hasn't suffered any ill effects. He also hasn't attempted to eat any more. Maybe it wasn't really that tasty after all.

i've been anxiously anticipating these...

I was so excited when I went to get the boys after a day at work and my mom showed me these precious drawings Kaden did. I have been anticipating his first self-portrait. I really couldn't wait to see what his impression would be, the way he'd create a person on a page. How would he draw the fingers? What would the expression on the face be?

The other day he was assigned homework requiring him to draw pictures of his favorite activities from the summer. He actually cried because he thinks he doesn't know how to draw. We do a lot of painting, coloring, and other crafty projects, but we really haven't spent much time freehand drawing. He said, Mama, I just can't draw cause it's too hard and I don't know how...my bones are too small. It took me days to convince him that he could draw a picture for his homework and it would be perfect just the way he did it. It was really cute when he finished.

Nana worked with him. She showed him how to draw little animals and people. When I saw these I laughed and smiled and I absolutely adore them and cherish them. I am so happy to have his very first self-portraits copied and saved forever.

I love the wild hair in the first one, and the second reminds me of Jack skeleton. These are so precious to me.

do you take time to notice?

About a month ago Matt and I were traveling home from a family reunion. (Someday I will get around to talking about that fun trip.) I noticed the most beautiful, gigantic, white puffy cloud. The light was perfect and I couldn't stop saying how gorgeous the sky was. I had to stop and take pictures. Over the course of two hours, the sky changed so much, it was volatile and transforming. I loved the change in light, weather, the colors, everything. I stopped over and over. The camera doesn't quite capture the magic of it, but it truly was magical.

little schoolboy

My little man started preschool a few weeks ago. He loves it. He asked over and over, all summer, when school was going to start again. He has the same teachers and he adores them. This kid was just born social. He was born wanting attention, he was born happy and free spirited, he was born ready to take on the world. He had no issues waltzing back into that classroom like he owned it. It made me proud.

I am totally one of those moms who gets sad thinking about her baby going to school. I am so lame. I actually have already gotten so sad thinking about kindergarten....which isn't starting for a year! I just thought about how fast this last year went, and how this one will go by just as quickly. I can't help but think that once he's gone, he's gone. That sounds dramatic, but five days a week from 8 to 3 is a lot of time away, and once he goes to kindergarten it'll be like that until he graduates and leaves. See? I'm pathetic. I just love that little guy so much. I love hearing him laughing and running around like a tornado through the house. When he is gone or sleeping I do enjoy the still and quiet, but it feels like something is missing. I miss the boys when I work, I miss them when they are gone. I really do just love being around my kids. So, I guess I will always be that mom who can never just let go. I will be the mom that goes in the car and cries when her boy heads off to school. I will have a harder time than he will. I am sure I will love it for many reasons, but man will I miss him.

For now, he only goes two days a week for three hours. It's perfect. I get to spend that time with Beckham and I am loving it. I love going to pick Kaden up and seeing him run to Beckham and I. Becks gets so excited when we pick brother up. The school is brand new and has the most fun playground.

The other day when I wen to get him, Kaden's teacher called him over to her and gave him some flowers. He got the biggest grin like he had just remembered...he came running to me with his flowers, "Mom! I picked these for you because I LOVE you!" He is just so sweet. As we were walking out his teacher said Kaden is so adorable. He is so sweet and I love having him again this year. I know we aren't supposed to have favorites, but he really is so special. I am going to miss him next year...

He is so special, and I'm going to miss him next year too... I'm pathetic!!

how do I love you? let me count the ways...

I love you on your best, and very worst of days...


Matt and I celebrated 7 years of marriage back in August. It's crazy how life has gone the last seven years. There have been many ups and downs, tears and laughter, kids, noise, work and play. I still wish we could say we are experts, or even good at this adventure of marriage, but we aren't. We still have our flaws, we still argue about the same stupid things that we should really just let go and let be. We still throw our arms in the air and stomp off dramatically sometimes.

We also continue to laugh often and tease each other playfully. We still try to make things fun. We are both still easy-going and peace loving so we try really hard to keep the home happy. We still try to love each other better and make each other smile. We still feel so fortunate to have one another. The good and the love in this marriage outnumbers the crazy things and the silly arguments 100fold. We still work at things and it always pays off.

I know I have a lot more growing and maturing to do. Matt is amazing. He is forgiving and loving. He is patient, kind, lets me get away with more than he should, and treats me like a queen, like God's gift to the world. I am so appreciative of him, of his love, and of the things he continues to teach me, day in and day out. I am so grateful that we continue learning to love each other better, and that we are on this journey together. I can't think of anyone I would rather try to navigate this crazy life with than him. I love him more than I can say. Happy seven years, Handsome!

i just can't narrow them down

Today was so perfect. It felt like fall; it was crisp and cool. The colors are already changing. I swear it happened overnight. It's been so hot (for here) this summer with nearly no rain. Just this last week it started raining and cooling off like crazy. I am loving it. I went to the farmer's market and felt like I was in Heaven. I brought back some seriously delicious stuff. I can't wait for our garden next year.

I took the kids to the park and I think it ranked up with some of the very best days we've had together all year. At first I was trying to keep them clean and dry, but soon discovered it was going to be impossible. Plus, I remember being a kid--the mud and water are some of the most fun toys on earth. The boys were happy. So happy. I was so glad to have my camera with me. I have been such a slacker lately and the pictures I captured today make up for it. I couldn't sort through them, they are all just so precious to me. Watching Kaden run a million miles a minute, seeing Beckham able to explore and wander like any 2-year-old does. It was a whole new experience for him and he was thrilled. I caught some of hte most priceless expressions. These little faces are the things I want to remember. These pictures of Kaden running, splashing, laying in the mud--those are the things I want to think about in 5, 10, 40 yrs...

Kaden made about 15 "sand angels". I dumped so much sand out of his shoes, his socks, his underwear...I have no idea how it all fit in there.

Look at my little boy walking around like it ain't no thing. He is like a new person with so much freedom and confidence. He is so happy and curious. I love seeing him discover and learn new things.

He is so beautiful.

He got up smiling and giggling and continued splashing in the water. I dumped a crazy amount of sound out of his clothes too....and I had to wash their car seats. I even found plenty of sand in my bra. We were a complete mess. A happy, muddy, sandy, wet mess.

I love days like this. I think they are my very, very favorite. Days that are completely unplanned. Days we let unravel as they will. We don't worry about messing up our hair or our clothes. We don't worry about late naps. We do what we want, when we want. I love being a mom. I love it so much I can hardly stand it. Seeing those kids so happy and full of joy made my heart nearly explode. That happy feeling was almost palpable and I know that days like today are the ones that I will remember forever.