Sometimes life just gets busy, well at least ours does, and amidst difficult decisions and day to day living I sometimes forget to stop and appreciate the beauty of the now...Ethan just turned three...WHAT?! How did that happen for? (that's how he would say it- yes his grammar will need some work) I will post another little ditty on his birthday and his cute orner little self later on, but for now I just needed to focus on the beauty of brotherhood...they just can't get enough of each other, and I love that. I know we had intended to wait a little longer before having #2 but the timing was perfect and these boys needed each other in so many ways. They melt my heart, they help me keep a healthy level of insanity, and they give kisses when they know they are naughty beyond all reason. I love them to death!

These boys complete me! And I adore them!

Hello there blog...just dropping in to say hi

Ok, epic fail on my part in keeping up on journaling...this is supposed to be my "family journal" and apparently I am just not good at journaling, but here we are for the moment, so enough excuses. I'll make the best of this visit!

Since the last time I put anything on here a lot has happened...we painted half of the inside of our house, we dug yards and yards of rocks out of our backyard and installed sod...we built a garden box and planted in it, and it's actually growing, Ethan went on his first father son campout. Ben has begun his love of outlets...currently trying to get me to let him plug my curling iron in...sorry dude, not happening. Ben has also discovered the joy of fit throwing, and he throws a real doozey complete with beating his head into random pieces of furniture or the wall or floor. Ethan is being potty trained and has been doing AMAZING!

 I think that is all of the big news...beyond that we are just living one day at a time, sometimes simply one tantrum at a time, and loving every second of it (wink wink). I absolutely love my boys, and I suppose that is the reason I am on here less. I am discovering how quickly the days fly and how fast my kids are growing and between house projects and just loving the crud out of my kids my time is pretty full. I thought that having more than one child would be the most stressful thing ever, and some days, some moments it is...but being a mom of two is even more fun than being a mom of one...there is just something about seeing your kids play with each other and love each other that warms the soul and my heart, and days seem fuller than they've ever been before. and no "fuller is probably not a word but who cares?! These two little boys who made me a mom, make me the happiest mom in the universe.

His favorite way to smile for the camera, darn it he's cute, even with that crazy un-tameable hair!

This is how brothers play...

Kisses

He knows who's in there, but every time he opens the lid he acts like it's a surprise! kids are so funny

Ben's smirky smile

Love this sweet face

Ben's cuddle blanket, we call it blanky blanky...yeah we're super creative around here. We try to keep it in the crib, but the poor knitted blanket is his favorite thing next to his thumb, and it is getting pretty ragged, i mean it is knitted for heavens sake!

We Were Beautiful People...

We were beautiful people once...not saying that we are for sure now, these family photos were taken 4 months ago...and yes I am SUPER slow at doing anything with them, but our friend Heather Weekes did an amazing job. I am super lucky because I got to keep all the fun ones that are normally bloopers but to me just make them real and genuine. So here are our family pictures for 2013...and maybe I'm a little proud, but seriously I think we were beautiful people, well mostly my boys, and to get such adorable boys I must have had something small to do with it so maybe I'm not so bad myself. Anyway, since Ben has started crawling, and now walking since these were taken lol here they are for viewing pleasure. I don't think that Heather could have captured our family more beautifully. Thanks so much Heather!

One Year of Baby Ben

Wow! Can't believe it for one second...I feel like Ethan just turned 1 and now my sweet baby Ben has hit his year mark...ok so sweet may not be the BEST descriptive word for his current state....lets say energetic, or maybe silly, or social. He can be VERY sweet, but also VERY devious. I have realized that the second child, especially coming after an older brother who is very busy and determined himself, makes for a fighter. Ben knows how to get what he wants, and makes no questions about it. He is still chubby chubby chubby, which is just fine by me, means I get to squeeze his baby muffin top a little longer. He is the smiliest child I think I have ever seen, and he loves making other people smile. He growls a lot, instigates wrestling matches regularly, is walking all over the place, and is one of my favorite things to bump into when I turn a corner. He has brought so much joy to our family this year and it warms my heart to see my two little boys who love each other so much. Couldn't ask for anything better...Love my little Ben so much! so here's a tribute to a full year of baby Ben!

Newborn Baby Ben...just home from the hospital

One month old

Two Months

Three Months

Four Months

Five Months

Six months...double take

Seven! And so began his love of soccer balls...mom and dad are hopeful

Eight! Beginning to crawl well, still doing the worm a bit

Nine! Crawling pro and eating everything in sight!

Ten Months and such a character! Just starting to take some steps

Eleven months and a walking pro...could also be the cutest heavyweight champ...love them rolls!!!!

 

So the video didn't work very well, it's seriously slow motion...but that is what Ben loves at 1 year old...to run around the house kicking a ball...he's obsessed, and he's adorable. Cant believe I was lucky enough to get this little guy! Happy one year to my sweet Benjamin- I love you!

The BEST Life

I know we all have our days when our children win every battle, the sun never shines, you are knee deep in poopy diapers, no chores get done, and your house is a mess...but thankfully there are those days, those blessed days, when from nowhere the sun is so brilliant you can't open all your blinds for fear your house will catch fire, and you know that this day is going to be INCREDIBLE! It is on these days that I try to soak up enough sunshine, cuddle my boys till their chubs hurt from being squozen (not a word apparently according to spell check) and I take pictures until my shooter finger hurts so that when the other days come, I can look back, and forward to these blessed days, and remember that I have the best life on the planet. I can't help but rub that in, because seriously, my boys are dolls, my husband is a handsome, hard working provider, I know that my life has a purpose and that my family loves me...what else can you ask for...(I'll refer back to that question in a few days when I am at my wits end) So to continue my huge brag for the day...Ben is 10 months old, still sleeps through the night, 12 hours (since 2 months old)and has the biggest smile I have ever seen on a child. His whole face smiles. It's RIDICULOUS! so here he is...my baby sunshine

Wow I could just eat him up! Good thing Ethan does enough of that for me!

The  smile that says "I'm about to attack" and he actually does, he comes and bites my legs...

The crooked teething smile

Oh Ben...this totally catches his personality!

I can't believe he's ten months already! Times flies- Ben is truly the sweetest little thing...he does attack me a lot, but I think it is meant out of love, he just got the biting idea from his brother who yells "attack" and then makes it look like he's biting you...but Ben actually does...love my boys

Thought I'd end with this "totally Ethan" picture....yes he is indeed a character, and believe it or not this was AFTER I tried to fix his hair...darn it his hair is something else, but it fits him

The Children are Nestled all Snug in Their Beds

Unfortunately they are probably not having visions of sugarplums and puppies licking their toes...they are probably just trying to not think about how cranky we all have been today! Ben is teething (where has my angel baby gone) Ethan is 2 (need I say more) and I have a cold sore! All in all it adds up to disaster and  not one of us has handled things well today. Ben woke up and wanted to nurse...unfortunately for him he was such a horrible biter for the last couple of months that I couldn't nurse him regularly...I HAD to start giving him bottles because I was getting torn apart...SCABS I tell you- it was ridiculous, so my milk dwindled back to nothing despite my best efforts, and now he has decided he wants to snuggle up and nurse again- little stink- I am having unnecessary guilt over it.
Ethan was helping with laundry and saw his favorite shirt in there- naturally a sweatsuit shirt, and he wanted to wear it. So I tried to help him, but then he wanted to keep his jammy shirt on so I said fine and set the sweatshirt down, then he wanted the sweatshirt, so I tried to put it on, (do you see where this is going) I finally got the jammy shirt off and started putting the sweatshirt on and then he panicked yet again and wanted the jammy shirt back on...after a few minutes of this nonsense I was done and I left him in his room kicking and screaming, with NO shirt ! Ha toddler- I showed you- then I caught my own look in the mirror with the glint of evil delight in my eye that I had just shown up my 2 year old and started to bring myself back to the adult world until I did a double take, saw the GINORMOUS sore on my lip, and reverted back to teenage whiney girl who is devastated about the stupid red thing on her lip...for some reason I still get mopey, cranky, and feel like it is a punishment...so silly, but there you go...long story short I needed to do something to bring a smile to my lopsided lips, so here it is, I started looking at pictures of my boys. Now you may wonder why I don't just go peek at them while they sleep.
1. Don't want to ruin a good thing, what if I wake them
2. When I am cranky with them it is NOT beneficial to look at them in the PRESENT hoping to get feelings of immense longing for snuggles because in the present they are little monstrous creatures lol therefore...I must find a moment in time from the past and reminisce and look at their documented wrinkles and dimples and see myself snuggling and reading books etc. etc....it works every time I'm telling you.
 So that brings me to the next part...these are the pictures that are saving my children's lives today, and saving my sanity for the future...thank goodness for the sweet moments that erase the rough ones!

first ice cream cone! 

He LOVED it! Can you tell?

my smiley chunky little man cub

so typical of their personalities...ben with a big old smile and Ethan making a crazy face

They play so well together...when Ethan doesn't think he's a toy rather than a playmate!