Cleaning House

Just going through my phone and trying to get everything posted, I seem to go through phases from doing phone pictures, using my regular camera to doing nothing at all for weeks at a time. That's life.

These were pictures that Max took with my phone. Normally I don't really let the boys play with it because back when I had a ipod (which I lost and it's still MIA) they got too addicted and demanding so now I have a password and don't let them use it too often. It does however make a great distraction when a certain someone has been rolling around in bark dust and has 'splinters' (just little pokeys) all over. No, it wasn't Jason.

He took this one of my dad's dog Tina.

I love letting the boys play after school, they get to hang out with their buddies, get some wiggles out and soak in the sun. Or in Oregon's case the bits that might poke through the clouds every now and again.

There is definitely a group that has formed of people who stay after and the kids love playing with them. I think it's so cute that everyone knows Max and Levi and are so nice to them even though they are both the youngest. This picture was actually on a pretty warm day, and for us that is anything getting near 70 degrees so of course all the kids burrowed under the play structure and built walls. Kids are so funny.

After re-doing the closets we had a lot of stuff spread out everywhere and Max couldn't help but investigate and of course try on. The kid loves dressing up, that is exept when it comes to dressing up in normal day clothes, because hey, that's boring.

This time he found Jason's headlight and my boots, he told me he was a robot cowboy.

During a freakish warm streak where we were all sweating by the time the afternoon rolled along, Max decided he HAD to wear a hoodie and a vest. Why? Because he wanted to and that's how he rolls.

In preparation for Max's big 4 year old friend Lego party, I pulled out my collection of Lego minifigures. Yes, I have a collection of them. I know, I'm weird but for some reason I love the little guys.

We don't pull them out often so the boys were thrilled and promptly picked out their favorites which were pretty much anyone that had a weapon and we decided to do some story telling with them. It was tons of fun and kind of crazy with their great imaginations.  

Dinner with Grandpa G. at our regular spot, Sweet Tomatos. The boys wanted to see what their faces looked liked covered in chocolate. Afterwards Grandma and Grandpa took Max over night all by himself for the first time to celebrate his b-day. I can't say how awesome it is having grandparents and family nearby.

The next day guess who took who to Toys R Us? Yeah, Grandpas are suckers. But then again, he's a pretty cute kid. He picked out a lot of wild life stuff, a pillow pet light thing, a spiderman camping chair, a dragon bag and a couple other things. Spoiled little boy.

While decorating for the party the boys joined the fun and played Legos on the piano. My little Lego maniacs. I love it.

Musings

- I don't know about anyone else but I am really looking forward to summer and can't believe it's only 3 or so weeks away. The boys and I will be off to see my brother and his new baby right after school gets out then home for a few days and then off again to Lake Coeur D'alene for a week during 4th of July weekend (side note, paid time off is amazing). Then just a lot of hanging out for the rest of the summer. We can't wait and the boys and I have already come up with a sizable list of what we want to do. I'm really excited because I'll be in my second trimester for most of it, which is usually my most comfortable and easiest time.

- Unlike my other pregnancies I have felt 'nest-y' the whole time and have been slowly trying to work on things around the house. I got new closet organizers for both the boys room and our own, to which I had a huge sigh of relief after they were done because I know things would get crowded really fast and those closets were both disasters and big wastes of space. So now in the boys room there is enough room for all (at least cloths wise) and ours looks way better and we now have a spot for the bassinet. Yes, I put them in the closet because I want them near, but not too near because I can't handle kids in bed with me. Just can't.

- Speaking of babies....In 3 weeks I will find out if we are having a girl or boy. Everyone asks me what I want and I am 50/50 dead even for either. I could see pros for either. A boy would be so much easier logistically, we would probably have them all in the same room, we have all boy clothes, toys and everything. Also I have come to feel very comfortable with being a mother to boys, I get them (kind of, I mean as much as one can 'get' any member of the opposite sex). But I know them and somewhat know how to handle them. Girls? I am clueless. Several weeks ago I was babysitting some sisters and they came to me with something they were fighting about and I was totally drawing a blank about how to handle the situation. I don't have any experience with girls, I hardly ever babysit them, we only really have boy cousins close by, it would be a new learning experience. But there are so many fun things about girls and having a daughter. I mean the crafting I could do for her alone makes me drool a little. Again, it's completely split to me, though I know pretty much everyone wants a girl for me but in complete honesty I would be fine with a girl or a boy.

- I am in my second trimester which is WAY better than the first. In my first I was completely exhausted all. the. time. I would wake up after 10 hours just wanting to sleep. Even after a nap or two I just wanted sleep! Then I didn't want to eat anything at all and the thought and smell of meat made me want to throw up. Luckily I didn't and have since gotten better and can now stay up past 10 or 11. I still haven't really wanted any meat but that's ok, I'll take it! I'm feeling better and a lot more like my normal self. Still needed a nap here and there but doing better.

- A couple of weeks ago was Mother's Day weekend and it was glorious. I realized what I really really wanted for mother's day was a day off,  to which Jason kindly obliged. He took Levi to his t-ball game with Mr. Max while I got to sleep in and actually take some time getting ready for the day without having to worry about all the other stuff I had to do like feed kids, get them ready, clean the house, work..... Then I went off to do some shopping, which was desperately needed considering baby's getting bigger and so am I. Not too much but I definitely wanted some looser, maternity type clothing. I went through some of my older ones and they were horrible and I'm pretty sure from when I had Levi. Then I went to lunch with some of my mom friends and got a pedicure with one, which I have only had done for my prom and wedding. It was an hour of amazingness and I will definitely be doing it again. After that more shopping. It takes me forever to find what I like and usually I only have a little bit of time to get something or have to do it without trying it on (which is a bad idea) but I just got to go and take my time. Needless to say it was wonderful. Then on top of that Jason had gotten me and ipad mini, which I love and use. It was a great day.
  
-Jason is going away for almost a week starting today. Well technically only 4 1/2 days but I really won't see him for 6 whole days because he's going straight after work and won't be home until late next week. He is going with his uncle to visit his grandpa in Arizona and see if he needs help with anything around the house. They are both Mr. Fix it's. We'll see if I can survive being a single mom for almost a week. I had planned some fun outdoor stuff back when the weather man said there was a chance of nice weather, but alas it will be pretty much rain and the boys have been in fighting moods especially since it has already been raining for the past while.

4 Years Old

 One of the things I love most about you Mr. Max is that when you want to be, which is fairly often at least with me, you love to snuggle. I love the way you so perfectly fold into my arms and shoulder. I thoroughly enjoy snuggling with my boy.

I think out of all the others in my family (so far) Max will be my fellow night owl. You LOVE to stay up as late as you can and will find any possible excuse not to go to sleep weather it's saying your thirsty, needing to tell whoever's downstairs goodnight, you can't find your favorite blanket/animal/whatever it is. You'd  stay up all night if you could and I know for a fact you do with the grandparents. But unfortunately you can be a grouch the next day but I'm betting as you get older you'll be my late night buddy, maybe not but until then I'll enjoy some of those late night cuddles and chats we have.

You are silly, I mean super silly. You have a very silly sense of humor and is always making me laugh with the things you say.

You are such a helper boy! You love to help dad out in the yard and will stay with him until the job is finished most times, even if that means a couple hours. It's very sweet. Also you are always at anyone's side if you see someone start to cook you tell us, "I want to help!" and you'll pull up a chair and be there in an instant helping until the end. Picking up toys is not your thing but you are getting better, especiallly if we have music on.

At the end of every movie, during the final credits you are almost always the first to get up and start dancing, it is very fun to watch and makes me smile.

You are such a snuggler, not only with me but you have quite of few things you love to snuggle with, you have baby (the clown doll that Uncle Gabe had when he was little), snuggle bear (a blanket/bear that you found in the closet not too long ago), your yellow blanket nese got you, and a number of other blankets which are mostly soft and fluffy to which you have named them all snuggle blanket. Most days you insist on any random combination of these.

On the vein of being a snuggler you are somewhat shy when we are out in public places or are trying new things. You are very quick to hold hands or ask to be held. It can be very sweet. 

 Anytime there is any sort of race, weather its to the car, to get to the other side of a playground whatever, you are very insistent on winning and if you don't think you're going to beat out your big bro or whoever it is you let everyone know how unhappy you are. You have quite the competitive streak in you. I'm pretty sure that comes from me. I am terrible when it comes to board games, just ask your dad.

One of your very favorite things to do in the world is playing with Legos. You have loved it ever since we got our first few and haven't put them down. You would play with them all day if you could. Every time I watch you play or you bring me one of your creations I am amazed how those little fingers of yours figure things out.

Also you love to color, I mean, you definitely don't do it nearly as much as legos but you sure love to draw and make pictures. 

Right now your favorite shows include Word World, Wild Kratts and the Sandlot. I love when you say 'You play ball like a girl!' in that cute little voice of yours!

Needless to say we love you so much Max Daniel. Our lives have been changed because of you and we are so happy that you are a part of our family. I couldn't imagine things without you.

The Big Game

A few weeks ago was opening day in the world of tee ball/baseball around these parts. It was a pretty crazy day, especially considering that I was never very into sports and this was a completely new ballgame (ha!) for me.

First was pictures. And no joke, I am positive I have the most wiggly kid in the world. His individual pictures I think will turn out well but the team shot is a complete wildcard. It was sunny out so he was very squinty eyed and for half the time he had his mitt over his face to cover the sun. And yes, he is the most squirmiest kid, several other parents and I were laughing at his  antics on the sidelines.

This might just be the best picture of him with that group.

He's got something in his teeth.

Checking everyone out and itching his back. Keep in mind this was all in the course of a maybe a minute and there were more.

After the tee ball pics were taken in came hundreds of other older baseball players who got their pictures done as well. We had to wait a good hour and a half but the boys stayed fairly entertained with the help of some snacks from the snack stand.

After two and a half hours of pictures and a ridiculously long opening ceremony where they introduced all 300 players and their teams, Levi finally got to have his first 'real' game which was really really short. Every kid on each team got to bat once and it was done. It was perfect because everyone was pretty tired from everything else. Plus, having had only 2 practices none of the kids really knew what they were doing. 

At first base. I love his expression.

Coming home.

Way to go #11!

I wish I had gotten a picture of this only a few seconds before. The kids had only really practiced a bit of hitting and catching but not much of how the actual game worked so when the time came to play the coach had told the kids they just needed to get the ball and throw it to first base. This was hilarious because for most of the times someone hit the ball practically the whole team ran to get it regardless of where they were.

This was literally a 6 kid pileup trying to get the ball.

Heading off for the end of the game huddle. For some reason he decided he needed to play with his shirt the whole time. I'm not joking when I say he's the wiggliest kid on the team. If I'm not sure where he's at I just look for the one moving and dancing around the most and 9 out of 10 times it's him.

These are actually from the practice later the next week. He's definitely getting better and practice is paying off.

Max is a trooper when it comes to practices, he always finds some way to amuse himself.

Here's to tee-ball season 2013