Smithiness

Around the house

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah) — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 17:04:00 +0000

Santa brought Lauren a Plasma Car for Christmas, and it's been a total hit with the kids. They play with it every single day, which is great for these cold winter months. I heard them playing together the other day, so I got out to the camera. I had no idea that Eli was wearing Lauren's winter coat, nor do I know why. I'm just thankful that they play together so well.

Sometimes it seems like a good idea to go ice skating

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah) — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 19:34:00 +0000

And then it ends up looking like this.

So maybe taking the 2.5 year old ice skating was a bit ambitious! Lauren did pretty well with me holding her hands, but she got really adventurous with a skate trainer. Eli's highlight was watching the Zamboni clean the ice. He was fascinated the whole time. I didn't get any pictures of Lauren on the ice, because she was clinging to me the whole time. But I did manage to get a picture of Eli's super tiny skates. Cute explosion.

The rest of our holiday break was wonderful. I'm still sorting through all the pictures, and getting back to work has been especially painful this year. I hope to share some pictures and some great kid-isms soon. Hope you all had a fantastic holiday season!

Lauren lately

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah) — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 17:00:00 +0000

Isaac was away this weekend in Florida, so the kids and I had some quality time together. The kiddos started Sunday morning off with a ukulele jam session while I made pancakes. Eli called it a 'uk-a-lay-la' and sang at the top of his lungs. We've been having fun with music...fiddling with the piano and percussion. Puppet shows are also a big deal right now. This is a good thing, because I have a ton of popsicle sticks from a failed attempt at this cobra popsicle stick awesomeness.

We had our first kindergarten parent/teacher conference today. And I'm going to brag about Lauren a bit. She tested in the 99th percentile. It doesn't get any better than that. She is reading up a storm and might be ready to move to chapter books soon. We'll still keep the standard books in the mix to make sure comprehension is there. She's also doing great at math, and the teacher said this is one of the most creative groups of kids she's ever had. A good fit for Lauren. The teacher said that they're moving into more complex concepts with storytelling and math, so hopefully Lauren will be more challenged. She also commented that when Lauren gets distracted, it's often because she is focused on helping her friends. I'm so proud of our girl!

Lauren has been going into her room to read by herself a lot lately. I commented that it is so funny to experience my childhood from the outside, and my parents agreed. She's got the bug alright. The other night, I asked her if she remembered the rainbow stories I told her when she was younger. She said that she didn't...which surprised me a little, because I told those stories about climbing rainbows every night for what seemed like forever. Then she asked me to tell her one. I started in and immediately realized how much she'd moved beyond such a simple story. She still loved it, but I think it's time for Eli to go on some rainbow adventures of his own now. I think he'll like that.

I taught Lauren's class at church on Sunday, and our theme was generosity. We read this book and made buckets out of paper cups. It was such a great group of kids, and I loved hearing all of their ideas about how to fill up buckets. Generosity is a big word for little kids, but they have no problem understanding the concept.

We've had a few Lauren-isms lately, and I regret not writing them all down. But I do remember one. I was trying to get the kids out the door Sunday afternoon. Eli and I were waiting at the door, and I shouted for Lauren to hurry up. When she appeared, I asked what she was doing. She said, "Oh, I took the longcut."

Love letters to brother

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah) — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 15:52:00 +0000

In Kindergarten, Lauren class has quiet time. The kids have the options of napping, reading books, drawing, or working on puzzles. A few weeks ago, Lauren wrote a note to her friend (her mom sent me a picture), and she also made a wordsearch for her friend who had trouble with their wordsearch earlier that day. Lately, Lauren has been spending her quiet time at school making things for Eli. It comes in the form of cards, books, and drawings. The latest was a little book called "My Snacks" that she made for Eli. She had drawn pictures of fruit on the inside. But my favorite part was what was written all over the front and back of the book. Lots of I heart Eli's all over. And some messages to her little brother.

The front says, "To Eli Frum Lauren. I Eli."

Let me interpret the back for you (I'll fix the spelling). It says, "I have a surprise for you. This. I U Eli. You are the cutest." Spelled 'keyutst', which might be one of the cutest things ever.

Halloween memories

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah) — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 16:00:00 +0000

Let's take a trip down Halloween memory lane, shall we? Here we are in 2006. Look at those cheeks! The eyes! The curls!

In 2007, I hosted a toddler Halloween party. Lauren was a wood fairy. That belly!

She chose to be Tinkerbell in 2008. And a very cute one, I think!

Eli arrived in 2009 and was able to join in the Halloween fun.

Pirates and mermaids were the theme for last year's Halloween night.

This year, we have Woody and Bo Peep from Toy Story. Lauren's starting point for a costume was a wig. She actually kept it one the whole time, much to my surprise. The kids still only made it for about 45 minutes before they started asking to go home. Their buckets were just too heavy! (And it appears that Eli has a thing against his costume hats.)

Where does the time go?

Remembering the end of summer

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah) — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 17:45:00 +0000

Towards the end of summer, we stayed a few nights in a cabin in Hueston Woods near Oxford, Ohio. It was the first time we'd gone anywhere as just our family of four, and I'm looking forward to more trips for the four of us over the years. Our cabin was pretty rustic, and there was something so quaint about being able to borrow VHS tapes and board games from the lodge.

This was the view from the harbor. You can rent pontoon boats, motor boats, kayaks and canoes. But since our little ones are easily bored and not yet swimmers, we decided against it. Everything in its own time, right?

The miniature golf was pretty run down, but when you're two and five, you don't care. They had a good time with it.

This was the lodge in the park. I loved the architecture of the building. The lodge was filled with rustic furniture made from local wood, and there were pictures that told the story of how the lodge was built. On the lower level were great murals depicting Native Americans. The ceilings were high and open and the view of the lake was a sight to behold from the rocking chairs. It wasn't quite warm enough for us to enjoy the outdoor pool, but we swam indoors.

Isn't that stone fireplace amazing? Next to it was a iron spiral staircase that led downstairs. We ate breakfast in the lodge dining room both days, and their coffee was some of the best I've ever had.

After our first breakfast, we headed out for a two hour hike. The kids were in heaven. Lauren has been asking us to take her to Sherwood Forest to see Robin Hood, but she was satisfied to finally be in some 'big woods'. Isaac had been teasing her about bears in the woods, and before long she had armed herself with a walking stick, a 'bear poke stick', and a 'bear hitting stick'. Eventually she decided that her walking stick could perform all functions. She was appointed our scout, a job she took very seriously. Her walking stick helped hold back thorns and branches so our group could pass.

Here she is leading the way with Eli trailing behind. We'd stop and explore things we found interesting, then move along. We stuck to the well-travelled path with the little ones and generally knew where we were most of the time.

The trees were strong and tall. If I had a hammock, I'd set it up so this could be my view.

It turns out that walking sticks turn toddlers into very slow moving vehicles. I think he was running out of steam here.

We had quite a collection of acorns by the time we were finished.

Hiking time coincided with napping time, so he got to hitch a ride in mama's arms for the last stretch. Not that I minded...it's been a while since he slept in my arms.

After a trip into town for some great pizza at SDS (it was on our list of destinations thanks to Krista), we headed over to the beach to finish out our day.

Played with sand and chased seagulls.

All the cabins have fire pits, so we started a fire for making smores. Eli was fascinated, and Lauren was yelling words of caution to us. I wonder how much that will change through the years. Note to self: eat more roasted marshmallows.

On our last morning, we headed over to the animal sanctuary. There were turtles, wild cats, and beautiful birds. Many were injured and are now taken care of here on the property.

We tried to take another hike, but the trail we chose was extremely 'natural' which isn't great when you are 3-4 feet tall. Lauren decided to make bear toys out of sticks and flowers. She said if the bears came up to us, she'd throw them the toys and run away. It was a great couple of days in the woods.

Dances with cousins

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah) — Tue, 13 Sep 2011 21:00:00 +0000

We went to a Zak Morgan concert in the park late in the summer. It got exciting when a crazy thunderstorm came through. The concert resumed quickly, and so did the silliness.

Kindergarten

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah) — Thu, 25 Aug 2011 12:47:00 +0000

It's hard to believe we're well in to the first week of school. Lauren started Kindergarten on Monday. She was so excited and only slightly bummed about having to wear uniforms again. We had been getting back into the habit of going to bed early and getting up early the week before. Lauren was excited and woke us up ready to go! I tried to get a picture of the kids outside before school, but they weren't really having it.

Isaac and I both went in for the first drop off. It was so cute seeing them holding hands. Eli saw it, too, and said, "Hold hands, Mommy?" And we followed behind hand in hand.

There were no first day tears from anyone. She's been going to this school since she was a baby, and the familiar hallways and faces made for a smooth transition. She saw her friends coloring, walked over and took her place beside them.

There was no hesitation. The only hesitation was from us, I think. We lingered for just a minute, saying hello to the teacher, giving her hugs and wishing her well. Saying hello to kids we haven't seen all summer. And that was it. We closed the door and walked silently outside together. "Well, that was a non-event," Isaac said to break the silence. "Our baby is in kindergarten, " I replied. And then we went on to our days like every other Monday. Busying ourselves with work and responsibilities. My mind drifted towards her throughout the day. So much more than usual, and I was excited to pick her up and hear about it. She was fine. She had fun. She was beaming when I picked her up. I remember dropping her off in the infant room years back...seeing the big kids walking down the hall and thinking that it would be her one day. I couldn't imagine it. And now...*blink*...it's right here in front of me.

The slow dance

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah) — Fri, 05 Aug 2011 13:30:00 +0000

We were driving in the car one day all jamming to some music. I looked in the rearview mirror from the driver's seat and saw that Eli was doing something, but I couldn't quite figure it out. Isaac turned around and started laughing. Eli was doing what we now call the 'slow dance'. He closes his eyes and moves his arms very slowly. It is also known as 'Stevie Wonder stirring a pot'. Sometimes he eats his food with his eyes closed. Two year olds are silly.

Heroes in a half shell

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah) — Thu, 04 Aug 2011 16:00:00 +0000

Turtle Power! It finally happened. The cousins wore their matching turtle shirts on the same day. It's a miracle I got that first picture considering the amount of silliness and wrestling that is involved with these boys.

Phone pictures

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah) — Wed, 03 Aug 2011 20:00:00 +0000

Time to pull pictures off the iPhone. Let's see what we've got here....

A morning of sorting beads. (Note that Eli is wearing Lauren's pink shoes.) Lauren made two different colorways: Christmas and winter. Eli helped her sort them.

I surprised Lauren on Friday and took her to have lunch at Isaac's office. She was super impressed by their soap dispensers and the vending machines. And she got to write on his whiteboard. She strutted around like she owned the place.

Then we picked up Grandpa for an impromptu visit to Young's! So many fun memories there. Lauren loved feeding the goats. She got licked on the head when she bent down, and then she got licked on the face. There is no amount of Purell that can make that right.

More library listening tunes...this particular week was Beatles week, I think. Our local library's summer reading program was so fun this year. And one day, I ran into someone from my hometown who I hadn't seen in probably 15 years at the library. She happens to be a reading teacher at the school my kids will attend in a few years. Small world, huh? That was pretty cool. (Well, it was until I got home and realized there was a hole in my skirt located on my right 'cheek'. Then I was mortified. The kids' eyes are right there...why did they not tell me?)

And sibling baths... I'll be sad when they're too old for this.

Grandma Sherry set up a fun art lesson for the older kids at the K12 Gallery. They made clay birds and nests and some beautiful watercolors. What a neat place!

And of course lots of playing outside when it's not so dang hot. I'm not ready for summer to end but a few days in the low 80's sure would be nice. Only a few more weeks until school starts...kindergarten time!

Touch a truck and ducks

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah) — Tue, 02 Aug 2011 15:30:00 +0000

A few weeks back, we went to a local Touch A Truck event. Eli was in absolute heaven, and I think Lauren had a pretty good time, too. They had so many different vehicles there!

They even had a monster truck (Lauren thought would be painted to look like a monster when we told her about it).

Book 'em!

And the highlight of Eli's day....the helicopter!

It was a medical chopper, and they got a call during the event. So we got to watch it take off. Eli's life will never be the same. We hear 'I like helicopter' all day long. Then he'll tell us that they fly in the sky and 'it spinning'. It's been weeks, and we're still watching helicopter videos on YouTube (thank you, geeks, for your online videos). He even made up a song...it goes like this: 'Hel-i-cop-ter' {repeat a million times or until your sister cries because she's trying to fall asleep in the car and you won't stop singing the song at the top of your lungs...true story}.

The morning started out overcast, but soon the sun came up and it was time for snow cones.

They had the coolest balloon creatures so we decided to stand in line. And stand in line. And stand in line. While sweat drops rolled down our backs, because each one took a long to to make, we discovered. But aren't they cute?

Balloons and blue teeth...yay, summer!

That same weekend, Lauren headed up for an overnight with the cousins where they all slept for a cumulative amount of 2.5 hours. But had immeasurable amounts of fun, I think.

Eli and I went to feed the ducks and geese at the lake during our solo time...one of his favorite things to do. There were so many there that day!

And he never fails to keep a little for himself.

A collection of summer happenings

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah) — Tue, 12 Jul 2011 03:01:00 +0000

Last week, I realized that Lauren starts kindergarten in 6 weeks, and I decided that there was much more summering that we needed to do. So we've been hiking, biking, swimming, running through sprinklers and eating popsicles. And I still feel like there's a lot more fun to be had.

We had a 4th of July party for our immediate families, and it was a lot of fun. Everyone brought a dish, and we had a major spread. I decided to make a cherry pie and a blueberry cream pie. I even had a little pie assistant...he loves to help in the kitchen. That blueberry pie was insanely good. (I modified the recipe just a bit.) I had to eventually throw it away and cover it with trash to ensure I wouldn't dig it out and eat it. (Like Miranda).

Did I mention he also cleans? (Future spouse, you can thank me later.)

At the party, there was swinging, water fights, poppers, confetti blasters, and lots of hanging in the shade.

Yes, she is this cute in person. Possibly cuter.

At some point, we busted out the baby pool and the sprinklers. It got wild and crazy and before we knew it people were running around in their underwear. Or maybe it was just because the boys didn't have their suits. Anyway...they were getting cheeky. (groan...bad pun related to the above pictured 2 year old tush).

Another thing we have been enjoying is our local library's summer reading program. They give out prizes at different milestones and have a multi-cultural theme this year. Trips to the library are always great for playing with puppets and puzzles. I let the kids select a certain number of books, and then I throw some in that fit in well with our activities or summer camp theme. We like to stop by the listening station and see what CDs are spinning that week. This is usually brief, because before long they are yelling at each other through the headphones and then giggling and being generally disruptive. Not cool at the library!

Tucked away around the back of the library is the little 'secret garden'. There are benches, sculptures and stone paths. This particular visit, the kids collected mini pine cones in a little pouch. Then they ran around being silly for a while.

It really is such a nice, peaceful place. I don't think most patrons even know it's there.

Having season passes to the amusement park has been so much fun. Here we have... bumper cars! It was Eli's first time riding the cars, and he ended up stuck in a corner with a bunch of other kids. The next time we went, his car spun in a circle the whole time, and we laughed so hard watching him. As he exited the ride he told Isaac, "I drove the car!"

More cars...it's nice to find rides they can go on together. We are fans of the big train, too.

We stayed one night to watch the fireworks. They loved watching the fireworks and the tower all lit up, and it was a nice way to spend a fun summer evening.

The biggest news of late is Eli's move to his big boy bed! We decided to skip the toddler bed and just get a full size mattress to put on the floor (so he can get in by himself and any falls are not so far). He went right to sleep the first night. While he's certainly enjoying this new-found freedom, it hasn't meant too much sleep deprivation on our parts. Success! But I can't say it wasn't bittersweet to take that crib down for the last time.

There are funny stories to share, but I'll save that for another time.

Lauren-isms and Eli-isms

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah) — Fri, 24 Jun 2011 13:00:00 +0000

Oh, Lauren...she is so funny, quick, and too smart for her own good!

She's lucky to have a very diverse group in her class at school. "Clara speaks Portugal. But I speak Ohio. She can speak Ohio, too!"

We had her Pre-K graduation a few weeks ago, and it was pretty obvious that the teacher had drilled some rules into their heads. "As soon as we get there, we have to go potty. So we don't have to go pee-pee right when we're singing."

During graduation, the kids were given a long-stemmed carnation. After being swung about all night, Lauren's carnation looked more like a boutonniere by the time we got in the car to go home. As I buckled her in, I told her what a great job she did with her songs and motions on stage. "But I didn't do a very good job with my flower."

It had been a long day that graduation night, and she had gotten a little feisty at bedtime. Isaac called her a stinker and she replied, "I'm not a stinker. I'm a graduator."

I drive a Honda, and Lauren told me that she knew what the H on my steering wheel stood for one morning. "Honk!"

I was riding with Lauren on the roller coaster last weekend. She said we had to put our hands up as we went up the hill. She looked over at me, pointed, and said, "You're gonna scream!"

About a year ago, we were trying to get Lauren to stop picking her nose. We told her that boogers were gross. She said, "No really. They're pretty good. You should try it sometime."

Eli had escaped during a diaper change and was running around in his birthday suit. Lauren said, "What's that called? Oh, yeah. Penis."

Along those same lines, Lauren informed me that if you put diaper cream in the wrong place where you don't need it, you might grow another penis. I feel like I have some more teaching to do on this subject!

Eli's talking a lot more, and we're starting to get some Eli-isms out of him. I forgot how hilarious two year olds are when they aren't throwing tantrums!

One of Eli's favorite things to do it to 'hit the rock'. You hold you fist out, and he comes over to tap it while you explode it. "Hit da wok," he says. And then he has to go around the hit everyone's rocks. One day when he was just hanging around with Isaac, he wanted to hit Isaac's rock. When he was done, he realized there was no one else around, so he hit his own rock. He has been doing it ever since. "Hit Eli wok," he'll say with one hand in a fist and another cocked back. He hits his own rock and explodes it. It is hilarious.

Eli and Isaac were playing outside with a toy that broke. "It bwoken," Eli said. "Daddy bwoked it." Ha!

Coming down the stairs this morning, he stick his foot out and said, " I stinky feet."

He is obsessed with trucks and points out every one he sees. He's starting to be able to differentiate the types of trucks, but for a while there is was 'Firetwuck!' to everything. Firetrucks are still his favorite.

Eli will still occasionally use signs as he says. I still see him sign 'more' or tug his ear when he hears something. He even came up with a new sign. We generally sign 'potty' by holding a fist and twisting it, but Eli made up a sign for 'poopie' that included waving his hand in front of his nose. Too funny!

Celebrating thirty-three

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah) — Thu, 23 Jun 2011 12:00:00 +0000

Isaac was traveling on my birthday, so we celebrated early. He and Lauren brought me flowers and cupcakes. Transformers cupcakes with pink and purple icing. Who even knew such a thing existed?! I opened some presents, including a few new Wii games...a Glee singing game and a kids dancing game. ("It's for both of us," Lauren said.) Lauren picked out my birthday card, because it played a good song. But I loved it for its missing word...'Today's your [fill in the blank]'.

I blew out a candle and laughed as the kids sang happy birthday with their cute voices. Here's a little clip of Eli singing Happy Birthday to Lauren (it was her turn to blow out the candle, and excuse my finger blocking the screen for a few seconds).

So we spent the evening singing and dancing around together. Eli mostly tried to stick the entire microphone in his mouth. We've since designated that one as the kid microphone. Lauren and I sang a duet. "Don't Stop Believin"

Then came the dancing. It's hilarious to watch, and Lauren gets totally into it. I won't embarrass Isaac by posting a video of just his moves but trust me when I say it's amusing! Here they are showing off their dance skills. I wish I had more video of Eli dancing, because we were doubled over laughing.

I am blessed in many ways and so very thankful for my life, family, and friends. Here's to another year.

Father/son haircuts

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah) — Tue, 21 Jun 2011 20:00:00 +0000

Amusing ourselves

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah) — Fri, 17 Jun 2011 12:00:00 +0000

We live a few short minutes from an amusement park. The fact that my kids will grow up going regularly to this place kills me. Hello, lucky kids! Because we have season passes and are 5 minutes away, we can head there when everyone is leaving for the day and pack a lot of fun in a little bit of time. It's Lauren's first year of being able to ride one of the bigger kid coaster, and she loves it. Eli's just happy to be able to ride some things this year.

Lauren and I had just finished out turn on the big coaster when we found Isaac settling Eli in on this ladybug ride. He had never ridden it by himslef before so I was a little nervous, but I need not be. Isaac tried to convince Eli to hold on, but because the other kids raised their hands, it was hands up all the way.

Lauren rode with him the next time, and they giggled and laughed the whole time.

Everybody clean up

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah) — Wed, 15 Jun 2011 16:00:00 +0000

Eli, like most toddlers I know, likes to take things out of things and then put them back. It's why we can go to the pool with a ladle and some Tupperware and spend an hour entertained. I caught him cleaning up his books and singing his clean up song. I think we've got another singer in the house!

Late spring fun

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah) — Mon, 06 Jun 2011 19:20:00 +0000

Two families of ducklings and one family of new geese have filled our community lake. We visit them quite often.

The amusement park passes have proven to be a great idea. I took Lauren there once by myself one day, and we all went the other evening after school. Lauren is excited to ride the bigger coasters ("I tried to hold in my scream, but I couldn't!"), and Eli is excited to ride just about anything.

Lauren is taking some dance classes this summer. We've picked up ballet and tap gear, and she'll be taking a hip-hop class later on. That should be pretty great to watch. She wants to wear her new gear all the time, even when the kids were helping me clean up the outdoor furniture and cushions.

And it's just been great to get outside finally and have some fun!

Butterfly release

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah) — Sat, 04 Jun 2011 15:00:00 +0000

For Lauren's birthday, she received a cage and caterpillars to grow into butterflies. I'm not sure who enjoyed this more....me or the kids. It was pretty amazing to watch the caterpillars grow fatter each day, form their chrysalis and then emerge as butterflies over the course of a few weeks. Much to Lauren's disappointment, we had to release them after a few days. During the release, I tried to lure them onto orange slices fromt he cage so the kids could hold them for a while before they flew off. It worked some of the time, but mostly they went off to enjoy their freedom. The last butterfly hung around for a while. Lauren spent quite some time holding it and transferring it between flowers. But mostly she just stared and admired it, speaking to it with soft and gentle reassuring words.

Memorial Day weekend

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah) — Thu, 02 Jun 2011 14:48:00 +0000

Three day weekends are just the best! We had a great time over this past weekend visiting with family and enjoying the hot-hot-hot outdoors. There was a cookout at the Smiths where the kids had a great time exploring all of the garage sale finds with their grandparents. We were greeted by a snake in the grass eating a frog. We were all simultaneously fascinated and grossed out.

And it was about 90 degrees outside. Thank goodness for shade, fans, and cold drinks. Bike rides, wagon rides, garden tours and silly videos...very fun.

On Monday, two of my cousins came over with their kids. Lauren and Maya started playing right away, and Eli was happy to tag along. And Zain...well, Zain is just happy all the time! I went upstairs to find them all playing dress up. I think they would have played all day if we had let them!

Monday evening, we braved the heat for a picnic snack. It's so hard to go from chilly to super hot all at once. Not to mention all of our allergies are going haywire. But we still had fun watching the birds and spraying ourselves with the hose to cool off.

This week brings more fun. We've already been to the amusement park once, and we've got pre-K graduation tonight. I know it's not officially summer yet, but it sure does feel like it. Bring it on!

The joy of boys

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah) — Thu, 26 May 2011 15:43:00 +0000

When Lauren was my only child, I have to admit that I just didn't 'get' boys. Not at all. And dare I say, I even thought that girls were a little superior...you know, with their earlier motor development and verbal skills and what not. What was with all the loud, crashing stuff? The trucks and the balls? I had my sweet little girl who loved pink and loved to dress up and would sit and read for hours on end with me. And although I was excited about having a boy, that 20 week ultrasound left me feeling worried. What in the heck would I do with a boy?

Now I realize how stupid that was of me to think those things. Because I am having so much fun with this little boy who likes to wrestle and play ball and go for fast, bouncy rides on my back. And that whole earlier development of girls thing is not all it's cracked up to be. It all levels out over time. And with Eli, I certainly didn't mind that he walked at 14 months versus Lauren's 10.5 month steps. He's still jumping and running around the same as she was at 2. Lauren was a very early talker and could sing her ABC's several months before her 2nd birthday. Eli was using sign language just as early and his comprehension was just the same, but it took him a while to start talking. When he did, it came fast and furious. He'd just been saving it up for all those months. He says things every day that suprise me!

And while I absolutely love playing with Lauren's hair and being invited to princess tea parties, it's just as fun to run around and toss a ball back and forth. I would have been tickled pink (pardon the pun) to have two girls, but I feel so very blessed to get to mother this girl and this boy. This sweet, snuggly, bright and wild little boy.

A random collection

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah) — Sat, 21 May 2011 13:00:00 +0000

I pulled some pictures off my phone earlier this week.

Lauren waving to me in her cute dress.

Eli climbing into the butterfly tent, because it looks like his play tunnel.

Lauren and I went out to the bookstore and stopped at Starbucks. She's a big fan of their cake pops.

This is Eli helping me make Lauren's birthday cake while she was at swim lessons. He loves to help in the kitchen, so I try to find ways to get him involved. He loved stirring all the dry ingredients together and sat on the counter next to the mixer to see it all come together. (PS - I love that Learning Tower. Both kids can use it together. Love it!)

The last birthday party

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah) — Thu, 19 May 2011 12:00:00 +0000

Here are a few pictures from our family birthday party for the kids. We had a great time, and it was so fun to have everyone over.

The kids had so much fun playing with each other and with their new toys.

And of course, there was cake with several rounds of candle-blowing-out. All the cousins got to pitch in on the last round!

We were all pretty tired by the time our last guests left for the night. The kids hung out reading together on the couch for a minute. I think we all slept in a little the next day. It happened to be Mother's Day, so that was just fine with me!

All too fast

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah) — Thu, 12 May 2011 15:41:00 +0000

Two lilac trees flag the entrance to our front door. Right now, they are in bloom. The fragrance wafts through the air, and sometimes I open the door just to catch some of that perfumed breeze. It feels like we went from winter right into summer. Our outside time was put in rain-delay by spring, and now it's eighty degrees and humid. Every morning, we step outside to see the blooms that emerged over night. Today it was the bearded iris, almost as tall as Lauren. A deep purple etched with white.

After we made our rounds in the garden, we came back to the front step. "Stand right here," I told them, pointing to the spot right under the lilac tree. They stood together, smiling, with cups of cereal snacks in hand. I grabbed the thin trunk and gently shook the tree. A shower of tiny purple flowers rained down on them, and they giggled. Holding their hands out to catch some. Those tiny purple flowers stuck in her fuzzy curls and in his baby fine blond. "Do I look pretty with them in my hair?" she asked. And of course she did. They wanted more, but I told them we had to stop. We need to let some of the blooms stay on the tree, because the flowers will be gone soon. And to tell you the truth, I'm not quite ready to let go of all of the lilacs yet. They just got here, it seems.

And in the same way, I'm not quite ready to let these kids grow up on me. I love it right here, right now. The way she thinks she can actually find the end of a rainbow and climb it. The way he runs to me with a smile when he sees me. It's all too good. But it's out of my hands, and they're going to keep on growing and changing and becoming their own people. Which of course is what I want, but I need a minute to be sad about that sometimes. Because every new phase, while wonderful to witness, marks the end of a phase for me. And I'm already starting to see stacks of closed chapters behind me. I know there are plenty to come, and I wonder what it will be like to look back and see volumes of memories. Of laughter. Of sadness. Of milestones. There are those big ones like grand vacations, weddings, and births. But the ones that I treasure the most look a lot like petals falling on smiling faces.