Brothers

I love these moments and usually I don't have my camera there to capture it.  And when I don't, I try to memorize it: the smiles, the giggles, the shining eyes.

Blue Stripes

My best friend and me.

I'm SO lucky. 

No matter where you are

Yes I work in a hospital.

No I don't work in this hospital.

Yes I try to remember this because it captures the "tough stuff" that I'm always trying to remember about everyone.

I don't think that we need to be aware of this only in the health care setting--there are people going through the tough stuff everywhere. So watch this and then look around you-no matter where you are.

4

He's 4 and he knows it.

Here is an interview session with him.  I wanted to capture how he is today, right now, in his 4 year old moment.
Of note-this is how HE sees himself.  I can't wait to clarify how it really is how I see him below.  Also, sorry the camera kept running out of space so the video is in 3 parts.


Eli's favorite color is in fact white, still.
He doesn't love Mario, he is obsessed with it.  I can't wait until we can breathe without that topic coming up in every conversation.  For board games  he wants to beat you at Candy land, Chutes and Ladders, Uno Moo, Kerplunk and Hiss.

His favorite foods are NOT peaches (he actually doesn't like these at all), oranges and hot dog buns.  He is still a slow and small eater.
His 4 favorite foods:
1. Apples
2.  string cheese
3. tacos
4. cucumbers
I approve all of the above.
He doesn't like pickles and pineapple

What did Eli learn while he was 3?
1. How to write all his letters and all his numbers and his name
2. He shows more interest in math and has started to add
3. Full potty training and at night as well
4. First swimming lessons without a parent

What will change for him in his 4th year?
1. He will start 4K, 1/2 day and 5 days a week.  (his teacher will be female)
2. He will play basketball and soccer
3. Learn to ride his bike with training wheels (he is already!)
4. Hoping he starts to identify words and START the reading process

Eli's 4 favorite activities:
1.Puzzles
2. Games (Mario or board games)
3. Rrt projects
4. Run around and throw and kick balls

Eli is starting to reason quite a bit.  He most often mimics his dad but also tries to sound like any old grown up.  He repeats phrases I say all the time and it makes me giggle.
"That is my deal"  and "That is my plan" are phrases I hear often.
He also says things like "Hughie, by 100 I want you to stop.  1, 2,3,4,5,6, 7,8,9,10,11, 100. Stop Hughie".  In the car he says random things that I think are related to nothing else ever in his whole life "Mom, do I have a lot of skin?" but usually come back full circle in relation to a memory or something he sees or has learned.

Eli is really curious.  He is always contemplating how something worked, if you did it the same way last time, why you decided on something and if you are being fair.  He struggles with his imagination. He isn't super creative yet.  He likes to play Legos but really prefers to play them WITH someone who can build for him.  When he colors, although he stays in the line in a color book, he draws mostly rainbows and scribbles.  He doesn't yet try to draw people or houses or things.  He has Mario figurines and a few other guys but never really "talks" for them and hasn't yet played "pretend" with many things (kitchen food, teddy bear etc).  I'm hoping Hugh helps him spark some pretend, creative play.

Eli loves to go on adventures, which can range from the zoo, to the beach, to the library, to a friends house.  He loves puzzles and will sit and work on them for a good chunk of time.

He has quite a passion for all of his cousins and really looks up to them.
He's still a string bean.  I have no official stats yet but he weighs 30 lbs on our scale with clothes on.  The poor kiddo still struggles to hold up a pair of 18-24 month pair of swim trunks.  But he rocks them.

He's more social than I am.  He wants to be with friends and try new things all the time.  He is just the right amount of shy and equal parts bold.  He will talk your ear off and is listening even if he isn't obeying.  He repeats, repeats, repeats.  Nothing about that is ever going to change.  Time for me to accept, accept, accept.

In case you have a child like Eli I want to give you hope.  Year 2-3.5 (ok a little more than a year) was the roughest in terms of bedtime shenanigans.  And if you're a parent you know what they are.  Things have gotten better but I never thought we'd survive.  So hold out hope. Keep being strong and soon enough your little will zonk and be more routine.    It will happen, they will be pulling worse shenanigans when they are 18 than bedtime stunts.

He's 4 and I don't know what to think or do.  It's not a huge milestone, like 1,  5 or double digits or 18, 21 or 50.  But all of a sudden he will be 14 or 40. And since I love the big part I play in his life he doesn't need to turn 5.  So I hope this year goes slow. 

S-L-O-W.

 What will this 4th year bring?

This is one beautiful boy.

Sleeping Hard

The boys have had a few awesome days.  They are exhausted.  I slept in the same room with Hugh last night and it wasn't a successful slumber so that only intensifies the fatigue.

Hugh's nap today was so long I eventually opened his door so he could wake slowly to all the natural noises around him.  But he didn't.  So I went in and watched him sleep a little.  And then I snapped a few shots.  Too bad I couldn't get the camera on the right setting....but you get the idea. 

He's growing too fast so these moments mean everything to me.

We have a birthday!

Someone is turning 4 tomorrow.

And just like any mama....it takes my breath away.

So much happened in the last year and I know there will neat things going on before he turns 5. 

More to come-this kid is the whole package and he deserves a couple of posts dedicated just to him. 

On Guard....just sayin'

I'm all about the hard stuff.  I know everyone has their own challenges and daily battles.  I feel everyone gets stronger while they trudge through the hard stuff.  And I'm proud when I see someone come out of it, on the other side, with 2 feet on the ground. 

And so I often try to see the other side.  I try to rationalize the heck out of every situation.  maybe.....but maybe....but it could be because....do you think it was.....and I try to remind people of the good in others hearts.  Validate the tough times, no matter what it is. 

But it seems a little forced that we are supposed to see the good in people all the time.  Blogs remind us, our parents tell us, our friends might even show us-there is good to be had.  Everywhere.

But that doesn't change some things.

Things like there are still bad people out there.
There really are. Just plain and simple. Bad people.
Bad people who walk into your house and take your wallet and then run.
Bad people like that. 
And no matter how furious I am and how violated I feel, I still wonder what tough thing she is going through.  I doubt what she did helped her in any way.  So I think it's ok for me to think she is a bad person.   

So we are a little on our guard at our house. We, as humans, have natural instincts and we need to sometimes trust them.  When you feel a sense of unease, be easy on yourself and be careful and comfortable.  Do not fool yourself into thinking that nobody would ever harm you.

There has to be a fine line between seeing the good and being on your guard right?  Give me some time...I'll find that fine line and I'll be just moving on in no time. 

So for now here's a tune that's being played in our house for no reason except they are a favorite band of mine.

Where I like to Be

I told Andy...."This is where I like to be".  I like to be by water. In a boat. On the beach. On the dock. Swimming in the water.  Fishing.  Riding on the water. I like to walk around marinas and look at all the big, beautiful boats.  I don't need sunshine but sometimes that makes it glisten more. 

So I'm lucky to have a man who truly loves to pack up the car, spur of the moment, and get his feet sandy. 

Hugh did not want anything to do with the sand.  He literally screamed for the first hour.  He stood still and cried, not wanting to stand in the grittiness. 

(The next shots are all Hughie standing still-he thought we were torturing him)

Eli dug right in.  Quite literally.

Finally, after about an hour Hughie became a man.  He walked across the sand and even got his feet wet.

I'm so glad he came around, because I know we'll be back to visit this beach multiple times this summer.  Both boys rode home in their underwear because we let them get as sandy and as wet as they wanted.