A good man

Have I ever told you how much I adore the two men in my life?

Photo credit - the lovely and talented Delaney Harbuck

You read all the things I have to say about Milo all the time, but I don't go on and on about Nate often enough... Mostly because he's fairly modest and partly because these little people are in my face all the time, so I write about them.

But yesterday was Nate's birthday, and I have to brag on him just a little bit. He is the most caring, generous, loving father to our people, and he spoils me even more than he does them. He's wise and gives the best advice of anyone. He listens to me cry and whine all the time and genuinely tries to help with a solution every time. He's hilarious, FUN, and a pretty snappy dresser. I adore this man with my whole heart and am so incredibly lucky to have him.

Happy LATE birthday, Nate. I would have written yesterday, but I was a little busy making a feast...

Just a little sample

I've just been playing with my new camera and Photoshop lately. Here's a little sample of what I've been working on. I have so incredibly much to learn, but at least it's fun!

 

Thank you Jen and Conner for this monkey costume. When you gave me this Milo had just turned one and I couldn't imagine him ever being big enough to wear it (and really, it's still pretty big, but he can't keep his hands off of it).

The most beautiful little girl in the world.

Howdy, Partner.

The Laundry Disaster (not the first and certainly not the last)

I don't know how you feel about doing laundry, but I think that folding and ironing might be my least favorite household duties. So when I came in to Milo's room first thing in the morning and saw THIS, I wanted to cry...

Oh yes, that's an entire chair full of pants, shorts, shirts, swim things, hats... And that wasn't the only mess.

There were clothes everywhere. On the bed frame, the slide, the ottoman. There were clothes hanging from his tool bench and draped across every toy in the closet. But look closely. Things were very organized. So, instead of freaking out in a tired haze (because, yes, I was up most of the night with Lucy), I calmly asked Milo what was going on.

He explained that he was working very hard on making a store, and when everything was all laid out, he was going to go shopping for his outfit for the day. Do we perhaps take this child to Target a little too often? He is so creative, so clever, so imaginative... So I had to just take a moment and enjoy his sweet, smart little self and realize that folding the clothes could come later. We had some shopping to do.

Milo was spying good deals through his "buh-knockers."

See what I mean?

A good morning of shopping. Now we just have to put it all away...

My wonderful and exhausting life

Oh my, friends. I am here. Some days I feel like I'm barely hanging on by a thread, but I'm here. It's been a rough go of things lately, mostly just because both of my little people are going through little stages... Milo is the smartest, most creative, most imaginative little boy I have ever seen, and he wants me to be interacting with him every second that he's awake. That would be fine, but I also have housework, cooking, dishes, oh, and another child... He's learning that it's great for us to play and read together, and it's also okay for him to do things on his own.

 

But could he be any more wonderful or adorable? Absolutely not. I can't believe how much this little man has changed my life and how fiercely I love him.

 

Milo and his gorgeous friend Eliora.

A stick, a baseball glove, and the end of a rainstorm. Pure boy entertainment.

I painted a chalk wall on our little half wall so Milo and I can work on writing letters and numbers. And whatever else...

This boy loves his bike and his swim trunks. What a pair.

Then there is my sweet Lucy. My passionate, all-or-nothing, snuggly little teething mess. Oh, this girl. When Milo teethed, it just meant less sleep (for all of us, let's be honest). For Lucy it means being up for hours at night, cranky during the day, and I just feel so incredibly bad for her. And so incredibly tired all the time... She's working on her top teeth, and it seems like they're almost through.

 

She's also toddling all over the place, getting into everything (Milo's room is her favorite), teasing her brother, screaming at the top of her lungs when he teases back, and loving her new baby cousin Mia. We bought her a little play kitchen for her birthday and she loves standing there and pretending to cook and sample food. It's fitting, because my petite little sunshine eats like a full-grown man. It's truly amazing, and I adore this little nugget. I mean, I grit-my-teeth passionately adore her in a way that I never could have guessed. When Lucy isn't moving, she's thinking hard about moving... Which makes it really hard to get a picture of her, but here's what we've got!

Lucy loves the chalk wall, probably because Milo loves it.

 

Promise you - she's thinking about getting the camera.

Lucy loves her little pool for about 3.5 seconds, and then she's ready to get out.

These blue eyes. They melt me. 

 These little people. I am so in love with them, and yet so weary by the end of every day (but just for now while I'm not really sleeping through the night). They are busy, but probably because I tend to be busy. They do everything with their whole hearts and I can't stay frustrated with them (and they're really good to begin with, so I shouldn't be very frustrated at all...). Being a mommy is amazing and exhausting, so if you'll excuse me, I think I'll go make another cup of coffee. Happy Monday!

They love each other.

These are CLEARLY pirate hats.

ONE!

Lucy is one, and we have the pictures to prove it! If you know my friend Delaney, you know that she is one brilliant, talented, gorgeous, photogenic, photo-taking girl. Here's the evidence - a few pictures she snapped for us the other evening to commemorate our little one-year old nugget. Thanks, Delaney!

This is before we got out her cake and she shook her head "no" and refused to eat it. ????

My Lucy Sunshine