two

A lot changes in two years. This:

Turns into this:

And this:

Turns into this:

Our little Squirt is two today. He has been such a joyful and perfect addition to our family. This boy has made it hard for me to say, "That's it. I'm done."

He has smiles, hugs, and kisses that I can never get enough of.

He is enthusiastic and funny.

He has always been a good eater.

He never cries for me to come and get him out of his crib, but just plays happily until a brother I get around to getting him up.

He adores his brothers.

But he loves his mommy MOST of all (ask any one who babysits for me).

At two, Squirt is passionate about baseball. We regularly find mitts, bats and balls in his crib. He is more passionate about baseball than Sauce is (scary) and I can only imagine what he will be like as a big kid.

I fear for my grocery bill in a few years, because this boy can out-eat all of his brothers combined any one of his big brothers.

This boy has a very special place in my heart for a few of reasons. In addition to the fact that he was by far my best birth experience, when he was born, I knew it was quite possible likely that he would be my last baby and I have been cherishing each stage of babyhood.

Also, I learned a hard lesson last November when I briefly thought I might have to live without him. Major's accident has never been far from our minds during these eight months.

Through grieving with our friends for the loss of their son, we have a new and lasting appreciation for how each day, each moment is sacred.

Squirt, you make me smile and laugh every day. You warm my heart when I look at you and my life is richer because of you.

Happy Birthday!

who says minivans aren't cool?

***edited to add: I was watching the road. I held my Blackberry up to the rearview mirror so that I could glance up and see what was filming in the reflection. Brilliant, in my humble opinion!***

We were jammin' today on our way down the canyon.

Yes, I was driving and filming.

Yes, I know it is not wise and is probably against the law.

But c'mon. My boys were groovin'.

freezing our baseballs off

Hunter and Sauce have graduated from T-Ball and have moved on to coach pitch this year.  Luckily, they are on the same team so I don't have double the carpooling.

Also, I don't have double the sitting in the stands freezing my butt off and pulling out all the lollipops tricks to entertain two little ones.

We have had such a wet and chilly June.  It has rained nearly every day for over two weeks now - and we are supposed to live in a desert!  I have never seen this much rain in seven and a half years here!

So this year, baseball has not been that much fun for me (but don't tell my little Tigers).

New to me this year, the boys got their first cups.  I completely avoided this like the plague deferred to my hubby on this one and sent them shopping.

I don't think I need to go into detail about the comments and antics that came about when these boys wore their "protection."

Use your imagination.

Let's just say there was a lot of "knocking" going on.

Here are a few shots from my perch.  I don't move around much because all of the fleece and blankets get in my way.

signs that he's the fourth child

1. At 11:30 a.m., with no lunch makings in sight, he is found on a chair at the breakfast bar, reaching into the sink to pull out dirty bowls from breakfast. He lines them up and proceeds to eat all the cereal that is not stuck to the bowls (with the spoon that he also pulled from the breakfast dishes).
   
   And Mom just stands there and watches him.
   
   
2. He frequently gets bathed with a diaper wipe because he is crusty, dirty, and downright disgusting at the end of a day.
   
   But a bath would be too much trouble.
   
   
3. Where's Squirt? It's been quiet in here for a while.
   
   Check outside with his brothers.
   
   
4. The only thought of changing his diaper comes when Mom finally notices that it is hanging down to his knees.
   
   Gotta get our money's worth.
   
   
5. The six year old regularly gets him out of his crib at wake time.
   
   Hence, refer to point #4.
   
   
6. He gets kissed on, hugged, tickled, snuggled, and adored by Mom because she knows how quickly the time goes.

I am so awesome

We were checking out at the grocery store today and the woman in front of me asked, "Are all these boys yours?"

This didn't surprise me. People notice my brood all the time. Sometimes they comment, sometimes they just raise an eyebrow, and sometimes they scream and run the other way.

I smiled, nodded, and answered, "Yes."

She just mouthed the word, "Wow, " and smiled politely at me.

My Hunter looked straight at her and said, "Yeah, Mom's awesome."

Cha-ching. Payday.

I'm wondering if my beloved told him to butter me up on the sly whenever possible.

Who cares, it worked.

bullet points

I am just pulling myself from a fog of three very busy weeks.  There are so many things on my to-do list, I can't count them.  A few days ago my friend Erin asked me if I have given up blogging.

I knew then that I had REALLY been neglecting my little hobby.

So, because I can't compile a complete one-subject post to save my life right now, here are some random thoughts in bullet point form with some cute, related (or not) photos inbetween.

• My maternal grandmother died last night after a LONG battle with Alzheimer's.  At 87 years old, it was a blessing that she did not suffer the end stages very long and she died at home with her loving family around her.  She will be missed though.  I didn't have the privilege of having her nearby throughout my youth, but she left an awesome legacy of a large and loving family and a marriage of over 60 years.  As long as her body allowed her, she was always a servant to those around her and the proof of her example was her children who cared around the clock for her in her declining health and held her hand for her final breaths.  At the time I'm writing this I am hoping to be able to make it to her memorial service in Atlanta at the end of this week.
  
  
  
• I successfully finished our first year of homeschooling via a virtual academy.  It was not without hardship and A.LOT of effort, but I think it was a great choice for our family and I have signed up for next year.  Moving on to third and first grade will prove to be a new adventure - we'll see if the yellow school bus shows up or not :-)
  
  
  
• I went to Laramie, WY to see Beth Moore and Living Proof Live a few weeks ago.  If you have a chance to go to one of her live events - GO.  No matter your background, she makes you feel at home and like you're old girlfriends.  Travis Cottrell and his team are awesome in the praise and worship arena and as my hubby always says about Beth, "That woman does not phone it in."  She teaches truth straight from the Word of God.
  
  
  
• There will be an entire post dedicated to my beloved's MBA graduation, but let me just tell you it was the first major party I've thrown (with actual invitations) and I'm still de-stressing from it.  We had a balloon arch and an ice luge (stay tuned for pictures) and I hired a cleaning lady as a special treat to deep clean my main floor of my house.  I had never had a cleaning lady, I thought it would be awesome, but she decided to clean my stainless steel cooktop with a scratchy sponge and just added to my long list of things I need to fix.... if it is even able to be fixed.  I think I'll do the cleaning from now on.
  
  
  
• My in-laws were here for a long visit and my mom arrived the day before they left - we then took my mom to her first ever visit to Jackson Hole, WY and Grand Teton National Park.  We go up there several times a year, so it was fun to show my suburbanite of a mom the real glory of the wilderness.  She was a trooper as she battled the elevation change on our four mile trail hikes.  If only we had sunny weather - it's been rainy and chilly for an unusually long time here.  But at least it's not snow.
  
  
  
• My baby is going to be TWO this month.  Boo hoooooooooooo!
  
  
  
• I'm sure this summer is going to fly by me, so I want to spend lots of time appreciating it.
  
  
  
• Can't wait for our family reunion at my dad's lake house in July.  My siblings, their kids, and my parents will be there.  It has always been a relaxing vacation spot with great memories for me.  I can't wait to make more.  Side note:  SIX plane tickets = OUCH.
  
   
• We've had one trip to the ER this summer when a baseball bat met Rufus's chin.  Some Versed, three stitches, and six HOURS later we left the ER.  The picture above is a non-ER accident when Daddy's hockey stick met Sauce's forehead.  Oh, and Squirt currently has his first black eye after a collision with a van door.
  

I'm going outside to play cap guns and baseball with my boys, well, because this summer will be far too short!

belated mother's day

This has been a whirlwind couple of weeks.  There will be a lot of back tracking going on for the world of men memoirs.

I know the grandmas and especially Aunt Louie will love this one.

Rufus had a Mother's Day Tea at his preschool - which was actually a belated celebration due to the arrival of the swine flu in our little ski town and the resulting cancellation of a week of school.

Each kid served his or her mom punch and a little plate of goodies and then put on an adorable performance.  All the songs had either a theme of moms or love.  It was super sweet and I am so excited that I have three more years with this preschool.

Here are some clips of the songs they sang to us:

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