Boyish Good Looks

Another "First" came and went today. Our Jack Jack got to have his very first haircut! I am being strong, and I am not shedding tears. In the wee hours of the morning as I held him and lullabied him back to sleep I took some extra time to close my eyes and twirl his baby locks in my fingers. It is not so much that I will miss his mullet, but I miss my baby and his baby things fading away. Folding away the tiny little clothes and shoes and hats and filling his closet with little man pants - mini hipster jeans and t shirts with quirky words, and boyish plaids. Soon he will smell like a boy, too, and not my sweet, soft, baby.

Okay, I admit that he is taller than a two year old already, but the blur of baby-dom and encore of sleepless nights makes it appropriate for him to remain still in baby category, and I will cherish it until he says, Mom, you're embarrassing me.


Good bye baby curls. Hello my Charlie Brown boy.


Onward we go....the sandbox awaits!

A Visit to the Grove

We have had enough. We need to break free and have a little fun. This winter has been full of snow and cold snaps falling below zero and we have had a lot of time to cuddle up in jammies and enjoy our favorite movies while munching popcorn and sharing cups of cocoa with marshowshows. We have baked pies - my favorite childhood pie passed down through the family...the little pie, we have baked cookies and brownies. We have painted and crafted and dressed like fairies and princesses and peasants and mermaids. We have been doctors and patients and monsters and dinosaurs. We need some fresh air, sunshine and new faces to smile at. We made our way to the Grove in Zona Rosa and met old friends for a few hours of indoor nature and a picnic of snacks. To get a photo was near impossible with the speed and agility of our children, but I have no worries because we plan to repeat this day again very soon. It was a wonderful time.

Children and Art

Greta calls it, "Painting with Ketchup". I call it, "Prelude to a bath".

Room to Grow

Saturday of our Valentine's weekend is going to surprise, as it was not full of chocolates and romance, but of levels and nail guns and male bonding. Derek and our friend, Rob, started to build our new room! Rob, his wife, Paula and their adorable son, Will, all came over at sunrise for a Valentine breakfast I made (to thank them for sacrificing this day to help us). We had home made cinnamon rolls, juice, coffee, fresh fruit and my famous egg foo casserole. Ok, the only thing valentiney about it was the sweet little candles I lit - no heart cookie cutters were available to me.

The men began the work and the rest of us had a play date by the fire and I smiled the whole time knowing that my little ones were getting a dream room to play in. I can't wait to see them let their imaginations run wild with the freedom that this is their own room to use to it's fullest. We are putting in a giant chalk board and a swing and a slide and a stage and a closet for dress up and princess gowns. There will be a loft/ Huck Fin Hideaway and bean bag chairs to watch movies and munch popcorn. They can draw, and paint and create and I hope they do!

I hope they love their new playroom as much as we do!

Don Juan

He had his way with the couch and then looked back at me as if to say, "Take a look at this!"

OXOXO

To start our weekend with lots of love, we drove to see Dad on Friday. He was feeling good and was grinning ear to ear. Poor Dad had been dealing with sleepless nights caused by a sweet roommate that sang. Constantly. Loudly. All night. Dad got a new room and a new roommate on Thursday and he said he had the best nap. I am envious of that!

We brought chocolate milkshakes and McDonald's hamburgers and fries. We settled in to the lounge chairs just outside of Papa's new room and Greta went to take a peek inside the new room. She came out puzzled and said, "What is that woman doin in Papa's room?" I thought, well, it must be family visiting the gentleman that Dad shares a room with (his name is Mr. Curtis). I dismissed it.

Gee joined us and brought chocolates and Valentines and a wonderful pop up dollhouse book for Greta. Jack got a big red bat and ball and I got a Heavenly red cashmere sweater. Greta returned to Papa's room and came out puzzled again. "Who is that woman in Papa's room?" Gee let out a chuckle and told me to go and see for myself and I would be tickled.

So, I took Greta by the hand and we went in for a peek. No woman. But, there sat Mr. Curtis at his computer, and Mr. Curtis has a shock of long black hair! To be 90 plus years old and have that much hair is something to behold, and he is proud and dyes it as black as black as night! And, Mr. Curtis is a wonderful man who we are very glad to meet. He says that he and my dad have an issue in that he can't hear a thing and my dad talks too softly. He suggested they learn sign language and I agree that it is never to late to learn!

We ate and let the babies play and amuse the nurses - it makes me so proud to see people enjoy my babies. And Jack made my heart burst into a million pieces. He said, "Papa" and pointed at him. My dad's face... I can't even describe the beauty of his smile. I have never seen so many of his teeth.

And on to visit our much loved, Mr. Cox. I know I have mentioned him, and Greta speaks of him so often - he is on her top 10 list. Mr. Cox used to have a room across from Papa and he would always join us for shakes and visiting. He is the most gentle, sweet man. He is considered one of our Grandpas - soft white hair, and pink skin and a quiet disposition. Mr. Cox's health is declining and he was moved to another wing of the Veteran's home and we have missed him. Greta misses him. We took him a box of chocolates and Greta said, "Happy Valentimes's Day, Mr. Cox" and she got out of the double Maclaren I push the duo around in and patted Mr. Cox on the knee. Mr. Cox liked his chocolates and I think he loved his sweet visitor, Greta. He shut his eyes and smiled.

The kids napped all the way home and I had time to reflect in the quiet. Though some say that Valentine's Day is a Hallmark holiday invented to make money, I know why it marks the calendar. It sits in the middle of the cold, dreary month of February, and I don't think any of us could make it through the winter without it. The day was grey. I thought I was driving with a filthy windshield and so I gave it a squirt and let the wipers go....but it wasn't my windshield, it was the day. Everyone needs to bury their nose in a bouquet on a day like that. Everyone needs a sweet pat on the knee from a tender hearted 3 year old.

And, Jack stole the heart of Papa. We all heard it...except for Mr. Curtis.

Aladin Pants

We had a morning of magic carpet rides and running around like monkeys named Abu. Greta has a way of taking me around the world in our living room. By the end of the day, that is how I look, too.

Prince in training

Reality

I have found a new blog that moves me to tears and even sobbing (Emily, I am going to send it to you, and Rachel!) The woman that writes is a stranger to me in every way, except that she is sharing a story of her life with such openness and grace, and raw honest emotion that I want to cry for her and hold her and tell her it is going to be okay. She is a mom like me, that likes shoes, like me and has 2 beautiful babies, like me. She writes this blog like me, but she does it so much better. She uses the right words. Rachel, her words are like your paintings - the pictures are so deep and open and they touch something inside. Emily, it is like your photography - capturing the soul.

I have been wrapped up in her words, skipping lunch while the babies nap and the fire flickers in the fireplace and the snow blows by my window....it is like a romance novel that I can't put down. What a lucky stay at home mom I am to have this outlet to help me cleave to my sanity and know that I am not alone trying to raise my babies with out too much tv, and high fructose corn syrup, and trying to still let them be kids and let me still be a woman. I remember a moment vividly from the days after Greta was born and we were home and my hormones were freaking out. I was in the shower and I was crying and probably talking out loud to myself. I asked, "Who am I?" Who am I now that I am not pregnant and there is a baby in my life and I don't even feel like a mom. Who am I now that I gave up my career and my body and carefree lifestyle? Where do I fit into this new life? I didn't have a clue. It took days and possibly a blur of weeks for me to finally figure it out. I am still me, but better. I am even better now. I am stronger and have new experience to draw from to relate to others and reflect on for myself. I will never be bored again and I will never be lonely.

And now the reality is that I just tried to be profound and seem smart and there is a big booger on my monitor from Jack. And, that is my life, much like many other moms and moms who blog and it is something to write about.

The Funniest Snowball Fight

What was funny? Every time Greta would bend over to make a snowball, her pants would fall lower and lower and before the end of the snowball fight I could see her little bootie peeking out from underneath her winter coat. (Even funnier to me is that she didn't seem to care.)

On a Cloudy Day...

We have dressed accordingly.

One Day Closer to Spring

I can hardly believe we are already into the first week of February, and I feel like there is still that haze in my life as time passes by so quickly. It may be the repetition of grey days this winter has given us or it may be that Jack is still up several times in the night and I just can't get caught up on the rest I need. Seriously, I know that it will end soon. He has been getting eight teeth all at once and molars, no less. There are two that are still swollen and causing him some grief. The little guy just feels better when I hold him close and kiss his little cheeks. I am optimistic about his ability to sleep because Jack has made it clear that I don't need to sing him to sleep every night. He nurses and then stops and looks up at my face. I ask him, "Jack, do you want me to lay you in your bed and I will sit here until you are asleep?" He nods. So, I lay him down and sit in the rocker and watch him get comfortable until he stops moving for a bit and then I tip toe out. Pretty cool, eh? He has been doing this for about two weeks and I feel so good about it. Jack is a baby of few words, still. He is much more behind than his sister was at this age, and that is really all I have to compare him to. But, I am impressed every day with his techniques to communicate and interact without words. He has even lined up all of his Mickey Mouse, Pluto, and Goofy plushes on the couch and then pointed at the TV to tell us what he wants to watch. And, he sings. He sings with me when I am rocking him to sleep. He projects so loudly that Derek even heard him downstairs. It is so so sweet.

Greta has the most vivid and busy imagination. From the moment she wakes she creates scenarios from Disney movies and acts them out in her bed. Periodically she calls Snow White on the phone for a lengthy gab session that very much resembles my talks with my good friend Rachel. She says, "No way! Oh my gosh, I don't believe it!" "Yah Yah, it true." She is starting to ask me questions. Those questions that make me smile and know that she thinks about the world and how it works. She asked me why Pocahontas's skin was brown. And, then I got to tell her about climate zones, and migration and people of the world (Cue "Its a Small World"). She also told me that God is a girl, and that she remembers her. ( I thought that was worth writing down.)

We play dress up often through out our day. Greta imagines she is each princess and sings each song attributed to each princess and then I find her laying on the kitchen floor as I am making lunch. Her eyes are shut and she is still. (ahhhhh.) Then out of now where she sits up and says, "You have to kiss me." ...Lays back down and shuts her eyes. I always have to ask her after the kiss, "Did you eat an apple?" "Did you touch the spindle?" And then I know which prince to be. Last week she was laying on the floor ready to be kissed and she lost her train of thought and shouted, "I'm making snow angels!" A girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do.

And so our days continue with events that probably seem uneventful to most. But, I feel like the luckiest mamma in the world because I get to act like a child again and wait for my prince charming to come home from work at 5:30.