My little soccer star

Soccer was one of my first loves. We have old home videos of me playing in 2nd and 3rd grade, and I have to admit, I was quite good. I was hard-working and dedicated to being the best defender my team had ever seen. I was also hard-working and dedicated to looking my cutest, since I was the only girl on the team... We have footage of me running up to kick the ball out of the way, and then turning around to flip my hair up and down a few times, just to make sure I was looking stunning for the inevitable praise that was coming.

I have no doubt that Milo was born with all my soccer skills and none of my childhood vanity.

All by myself

Could I just share something funny with you? I was thinking the other day about last year's Outfit of the Day posts, and remembering how fun it was. Today's outfit wasn't half bad, so I thought I'd get a shot or two. But here's what happens when I try to take pictures of myself...

The face of utter puzzlement.

Just in case you wanted to know what I look like with two chins...

For some reason the bathroom door seemed like a great place to take a silly hip-pose photo.

So, from now on, if there's going to be an outfit post, Nate will have to be involved. In other news, I remembered I live in small-town Texas when I saw this giant sign in someone's front yard:

Try to break in to this house again,

We'll blow your head off.

(insert picture of gun)

At least you know where you stand with them, right? Anyway, off to keep up with this little guy, who's currently standing in an empty swimming pool and mooing at Curious George (there are cows involved with this episode). Happy Thursday!

Yes, Milo, you do.



Play time

Sometimes I get concerned about being home with Milo all the time. I mean, I want him to know how to play with other kids. But then I realize that he does just fine.


Milo and I put Lily into the tent and both kids got a kick out of it.

Could these two be any cuter? You're going to have to take my word for how much Elijah and Milo loved this wagon ride since they both look so chill...

I thoroughly NEED one of these wagons. It's all decked out with cupholders and everything!

Well YES, sir

I get a lot of attention when I take Milo and Lily out for a walk. It's not necessarily what I'm going for, considering I'm usually scrubby, sweaty, and red-faced in no time, but people can't help it. If I had one of those nifty double strollers, no one would give us a second glance, but it's the fact that I'm wearing one baby and pushing a toddler in the jog stroller that's so eye-grabbing. And the weirdest thing of all is that it seems to be older men who can't help but gawk...

I was hauling it through a different neighborhood than we usually walk in this morning, and no fewer than three old men (one with a full Santa beard and another with two yippy dogs) all mentioned how I must be getting quite the workout and that I really had my hands full. The kicker was the man who came strolling down his driveway in a wifebeater and jersey shorts, making conversation all the way. "Well my God, girl, looks like you've got your hands full!"

"Yes, sir, I do."

"Well I couldn't do all that. How are you doing that?"

"Well, sir, it's just sheer determination to get out of the house." (insert awkward giggle) "It's not that big a deal."

"My God. I mean, you've got your hands full with those two!"

"Yes, sir."

I continued walking, but he just couldn't stop shouting down the street to me as I left.

"I mean, two babies! I couldn't do all that. Pushing one and toting the other."

"Thanks!" I called over my shoulder, and then he went all out.

"You know what? You's one hell of a woman! Toting that one and pushing the little guy. You's one hell of a woman!"

"Thank you, sir! Have a great morning!"

"One hell of a woman!"

Well, yes, sir, random old man. Yes I am. Thank you for reminding me and letting me remind everyone else. I have no idea how long he kept talking about it after I left. Maybe he was just starved for attention and trying to carry on a conversation with the first person he saw? I'd rather take it as the nicest compliment I've been paid in a while.

Babies become big boys

I can't get enough pictures of my little man, especially because he's growing up so fast! This past week he's had a rough time - bonking his head on the wall, tripping onto a giant lego and scratching up his nose, and pulling an assortment of things off of the table and down on top of himself, all the while cutting a molar. WHEW. Let's just say he's looking more and more like a little boy all the time.

We let Milo watch Curious George for a few minutes before bed last night. There he sat, in between (instead of on) his lion chair and his Scout puppy, very seriously paying attention.

My new favorite picture ever with Nate doing what daddies do best - tickling Milo until he fills up that diaper.

Hair blowing in the wind, face scratched up, eating animal crackers and looking like a big boy.

Yahweh

Alex found this amazing song for me (thank you so much, Alex!!!), and I happened to check out the Kari Jobe version (since I always always love her voice). Just wanted to share in case you needed some encouragement today.

Cinnamon Rolls

There aren't a lot of days that I just want to pat myself on the back and talk about what a good job I've done. But oh boy, today's the day. I ran into a recipe for cinnamon rolls on Pinterest and thought, "Hmmmm, those look good, but the amount of time spent on them couldn't be worth it."

Fast forward to yesterday, when I got a great idea to make a birthday breakfast for Sarah (HAPPY BIRTHDAY LITTLE SIS! YOU'RE ALMOST 30!!!!!) and remembered those rolls. Special occasions call for special meals, right? So I did it. I made cinnamon rolls that look like a photo shoot and taste pretty good, too. Lucky for all of us, I was thoughtful enough to document it.

Pre-frosting rolls (just as yummy without).

With delicious frosting.

Pat pat. Oh, excuse me. Just patting myself on the back again. When you're a stay-at-home mom with a teething baby, you have to commend yourself as often as humanly possible, or you're liable to spend some time rocking and crying in the corner by yourself.

You know, I was thinking the other day how much I love food, which is funny to say since I spent some time in my 20's not eating. For a while, I was positive that it was my newfound wisdom that came when I turned 30, and then I looked around and saw the number of 30-somethings who are still caught up in the "my weight is my measure of life success" ratrace. It's sad! I guess I've realized that I need to take good care of my body (which I definitely do), but I also need to enjoy my body while I can. So today I missed my run. Not for lack of trying - just a stumbling drunk/high/crazy man at the end of my street and a lost key that made its way into my underwear. All that is for another post... And what I'm trying to say is that I still ate a cinnamon roll and didn't think for a second about punishing myself to work it off. 30 is good. Revelation is even better.

And if you need the cinnamon roll recipe, click here. It's worth the work.
Happy weekend!

Swinging at the park

Most days I wake up ready to go, happy, full of ideas of what we're going to do. And then there are days I'm irritated just by being awake, and I have to really concentrate on being fun. Today was one of those days where we just had to pack it up and take the show on the road or I was going to scream. So I put Lily in the pack (give me a few weeks and we won't leave the house - wearing Lilypaul in the pack is hot enough in the 70's. I won't be able to do it when it's in the 80's or 90's!!!), Milo in the jog stroller, and we walked the mile to the park. And what we ended up with was a perfect morning swinging, with gorgeous sunny weather and a cool breeze.

Milo was delighted the entire time. When he was chewing on his zebra (working on a few molars), he was grinning.

Two babies, two swings. Perfect.

Okay, Lilypaul doesn't exactly LOVE swinging. But she did enjoy just chilling. No matter how many times I moved her arms, the one always ended up just like this.

Sweet sweet Milo.

 So, all in all, I made it through the morning with a smile on my face. Now let's hope I can sneak a shower in the 15 minutes I have between laying Milo down and getting Lily up. (sigh) And even if I stink, it is Thursday, after all. Almost done with another week.

Slightly sleepy

Same slightly zoned morning face.

Milo has amazing bedhead.

Ever wonder what Milo and I both look like when we're sleepy in the morning? Well, apparently we make the same tired face (see first picture). I don't have an excuse - look at this picture! I had obviously been up long enough to braid the front of my hair. Apparently I hadn't been up long enough to have some coffee, eh? I love Milo's little sleepy bedhead. He desperately needs a haircut, so it looks a little more out of control every time he gets up. Fabulous.

Anyway, here's to being a little sleepy on a middle-of-the-week Wednesday. (yawn)

My eyeball cam

So many things I need to be able to show you. Could we figure out how to stream my thoughts and memories to blog video?
I would love for you to see my little man picking his first dandelion, walking over to tell his daddy, "Dis?" He clutched it for the rest of the morning, until all the seeds blew away in our living room and I'm positive a few might take root...
Or you could have watched him drinking a tiny smoothie after the Smoothie King girls hooked him up with a cup the size of a dixie cup with a lid and a straw cut in half. He marched around proudly with his Pineapple Surf, and I had to refill his cup at least once from mine...
You might have enjoyed a peek at him watching Curious George, standing directly under the television and making monkey and elephant sounds...
If someone could invent a camera installed in a mommy's eye that could snap at will, I'd get it in a (somewhat uncomfortable sounding) second. Instead you're going to have to take my word for how cute my little man has been all weekend.
I did, however, snap a picture of this little cutie in her new headband. Too sweet.

Hope your Monday is fantastic!

What does the sheep say?

When Milo is sitting in his high chair, it's the absolute best time to video him. Why? Well, it's really the only time of day that he's still... His animal noises are superb, and I've been trying to get some of them on camera. He does the dog, cat, monkey, seal, lion, and more recently, the sheep, bird, and horse. What you also need to know, though, is that my son teases me. At the age of 1... You'll see what I mean (and my apologies for the cucumber falling out of his mouth - we're working on table manners).

 

On another note... I was listening to some worship music while I fed Milo lunch today, and as I sang along, I was waving my arms above my head and looking up. My precious boy was waving his arms right along with me, quizzically looking back and forth from me to the ceiling, trying to figure out who we were waving to, but never stopping. He'll figure it out soon.

Sharing hats

Caught the cutest picture of Lily today in one of Milo's old hats (I could never keep this one on his head). Adorable, right?

Then Milo had to wrestle himself into the hat as well...

I'm going to have to admit - a bucket hat just isn't his thing.

Jumping Milo

I'm on a video kick. I guess it's because there is no way to explain how funny Milo is without you really getting to see it yourself. Today he wanted to get into the jump-a-roo so badly. I mean, it did used to be his absolute favorite thing, and let's be honest - if I moved it to the highest setting, he could probably still get away with jumping in it. But there was no time for all that switching, so we took a brief second on Lily's height setting...

Here are things I can't get past - the funny little half-bounce he's doing, and those skinny little legs sticking out. My (literally) little man. He brightens every day.

Milo and Lola

Let's add a little something cheery today, too. Ann got a puppy named Lola, and Milo absolutely adores her. You know I can't resist adding a video here and there, so here you go. You get smiles, action, and the "uh-oh" face. Who could ask for more?

Oh, you'd like pictures as well? Absolutely.

Love this face.

As soon as Lola got settled by the couch, Milo plopped down right next to her and they watched a bit of Curious George together.

Mommies and boo-boos

Oh Milo, you're turning into a little boy. And little boys have spills... Sometimes walking out of Target. And sometimes those spills are caused when your mommy looks up for a split second and accidentally bumps you, causing you to faceplant into the concrete. I'm not sure who cried more over this one, you or mommy.

The spill happened last night, and this is today. Last night the entire area between his nose and top lip was swollen so much I couldn't recognize his sweet baby mouth.

Getting a picture of this little stinker today was tough. He was not having it. Guess he didn't want to remember this boo-boo after all?

Here he was telling me ALL about it.

Anyway, here's hoping I'm not the only mommy who's accidentally caused a boo-boo. I'm pretty sure it's the worst feeling in the world.

Back in the saddle

My son is a boy wonder. He won't even try to do something at all, and then he gets it on the first try. My theory is that he's just sitting around planning out his strategy, visualizing how he'll do it, and then he surprises and impresses us with his new tricks.

Take, for example, the rocking horse. The only time he's ever even been on it was when we put him on it to take some pictures. Fast forward to today, where he just climbed on the horse (and he did have to climb because he's so little), rocked and rocked, and dismounted like a champ. Nate and I both rode horses once upon a time, so maybe it's just in his blood.

For your viewing pleasure (no questionable language involved):

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I have three words to describe my week thus far...
TWO TEETHING BABIES.

Enough said, right?

Eyes and ears and nose and mouth

Just in case you were wondering, Milo definitely knows his eyes, mouth, nose, tongue, ears... And he loves to show them off. Especially when he's a mess at lunch. Remind me not to give him broccoli to eat by himself again until he's at least 12.