life update.

I suppose an update is in order.  I've been trying to hold off because we know how things turned out last time.  We do have a contract on another house.  It is almost a total remodel.  I mean it.  New floors. Paint in every room.  Kitchen do-over.  4 bathrooms that need to be completely updated.  Lighting, fixtures, tile.  EVERYTHING.

Right now, we are waiting for their response to our requests from the inspection.  There was nothing major but a few fixes are going to be deal-breakers if they refuse.  This house was built in 1983 and wow... I think everything in there is original.  You get the idea.

Work.
Work.
Work.

In other news, we have a big first tonight.  Theo went away to an old fashioned amusement park with Nana and Pop Pop.  He's spent the night with them before, but he's never gone out of town or been away from "home" with anyone but us.  We're missing his first amusement park.  It's kind of a big, sad deal!

Dexter is starting to talk.  He mimics and repeats sounds, trying to say words every day.  He is starting to say things on command.  He's also starting to identify objects by name as he points to them.  My favorite? When he points and says "I want that."  Not quite that plain, but I understand him.  He'll say "I want that" and point, then he keeps saying "that, that, that."

I can't stop thinking about this house.  I have some pictures of it, I'm debating posting them.  Because guys? It's lovely outside, but pretty hideous inside.  Should I?  What have we gotten ourselves into?

Reminds me of a fascinating blog I stumbled across while searching for remodeling ideas.  It's written by homeowners who bought a house that's....Not Quite a Teardown...but almost.  The transformation is shocking and addicting.

Work has been pretty tough lately.  I haven't been getting much sleep.  My grandpa has been really sick.  We have had some fun, floating on rafts in the lake.  We really need a getaway.  We need a change of scenery.  Some new kind of fun.

~C~

this little thing he does.

We haven't abandoned Dexter's bottle yet.  He still gets one in the morning and one before bed.  With all the other change and uncertainty going on in our lives, it's hard for me to take away that one comfort he's got.  While I'm holding him at night, as he's drinking his bottle, there's this little thing he does.  I want to remember it forever.

What does that have to do with this?

Ryan got me this beautiful silver necklace for Mother's Day this year from Uncommon Goods.  Are you familiar? They have a lot of neat gift ideas, but I really love that they use a lot of recycled materials in their products. 

Mama bird sitting on her nest.

My 2 blue eggs inside.

Nest detail.

The "nest" is copper.

I wear it every day.  Back to bedtime...

Dexter drinks his bottle, holding it with one hand.  Eyes closed, his other hand searches until he finds my necklace.  He manipulates the pieces with his fingers until he gets it just the way he wants it.  When the eggs are out of the nest and out of his way, he rubs the inside of the rounded pieces, holding them between his thumb and forefinger, switching between the silver and copper pieces.  The bottle drains, his eyes get even heavier.  His hand gets heavier until it falls onto his own chest.  That's when I sit and stare at him for a bit longer before kissing his blonde head and whispering "good night, my little egg."  

This mama bird will protect her nest til the end of time.  I wish the little eggs weren't in such a hurry to hatch and fly. 

xo, 

mama bird in the midwest

strawberries and fire trucks.

June 9, 2012.

The local fire department had their annual strawberry festival Saturday.  I pretty much failed at getting any pictures of fire trucks or strawberries.  We did have some yummy food (ribeye sandwiches, sloppy joes, fresh corn on the cob, and strawberry shortcake with ice cream).

Dexter makes this face.  ALL. THE. TIME. Only sometimes, it comes with scrunched eyebrows.

The coolest thing was the rescue helicopter that Theo got to climb all over.  A few minutes later, we got to watch it take off.  I've never been in (or even that close to) a helicopter before, so Theo has one up on me. 

He just loved it.  He sat in that little seat there and said "I'm ready to go" over and over. Ha!

One blurry pic of me and my kid. Sigh.

He loved pretending to be a little fireman.

Oh look! A fire truck. :) 

Hope you had a wonderful weekend. 

xo, 

~C~

Oh, here's a bonus pic, because it's just cute.  Dex on 6/7/12 playing at his friend's house.

major developments and a new normal

May 29, 2012.

That's the day the babysitter sent me the text saying that Theo told her that he had to pee in the potty.  The difference was that this time, he did it.  And afterwards he refused to put a diaper back on.  Underwears it is, young man.

Underwears it is.  We went to the store(s) so he could pick some out that night.  Apparently 2T underwear are hard to find.  He has about one accident a day.  We encourage him to wear underwear at home as much as possible.  There are constant reminders and nudges..."do you need to potty?" "do you feel like you could pee soon?" "don't forget to tell someone if you have to potty."  "remember to keep your underwears clean and dry."

Yes, he calls them his underwearS.  He's doing really well, overall.  I always said I wasn't going to rush it, wouldn't start pushing it until he was at least 2 and a 1/2.  I'm letting him lead the way.  If he doesn't want to wear underwear, I don't make him.  What's the point?  I feel like he's made a lot of progress in a little time, on his own accord in the past week and a half.  I'm so proud of my underwears-wearin' kid!  And yeah, sometimes he also refuses to wear pants.

Oh, there are rules.  No underwears to bed or in the car.  So if we have a day where we're gone a lot, there are no underwear.  He understands, he gets it.
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We've been living at Nana and Pop Pop's while continuing to look for a place of our own.  Closing on our house went smoothly and now we are just weighing the pros and cons of buying an existing home versus building a brand new one.  It's a lot to think about.  In the meantime, we're enjoying the amenities here, like Nana's big whirlpool tub!

Bubble beard! 

Pruny. 

Bathtub mohawk.

We're adjusting and trying to find a new normal.  We're hoping for a new place to call our own very soon.  

xo, 

~C~

a new 'do for Dexter

Before Dexter was born, I assumed he would have a head full of thick dark brown hair like Theo.  He came out with blondish brown wispy hair that has only gotten blonder.  Theo had to have a haircut at 10 months.  I mean, HAD to, because every morning he would wake up with it in knots.  Dexter, on the other hand, was slower to fill in.  But by 12+ months, it was starting to get in his eyes and definitely taking on the defining characteristics of a mullet.  I didn't really care, it's part of his baby-ness.  I'm not in as big of a hurry as he is to speed into toddler-ness.

Without further ado, Dexter's first haircut.

May 31st, 2012.  My blondie's long locks...

from the front

from the back

and from the side.

Dexter was happy as a clam during the haircut because he got his own comb.  Naturally, he was happy to help with his new style!

He wasn't a huge fan of the water bottle.

Good sport!

All done!

~C~

the last night at home.

May 24, 2012.

That's the last night our boys slept at their beds in their first home.

Coincidentally, I had scheduled our family pictures for the same night long before I knew it would be our last night there as a family of four.  It was serendipitous timing for the photo shoot.  I have bragged on our photographer before, but she never ceases to amaze me.  Every time she leaves, I'm thinking she didn't get anything good, but somehow, she always does.  We wanted to make sure some of the pictures had our house in the background.

The main reason for the photo shoot was to capture my baby boys, ages 1 and 2.

Photos courtesy of Simply Angie Photography

I can't help it, I just think these two are the cutest peanuts in the pack. After Angie left, we decided to take one last walk to the Dairy Queen down the road.  We can get to it from behind without ever leaving our neighborhood.  We took in all of the sights and sounds and smells.  Fresh cut grass.  Kids laughing and playing.  Cars driving by and people waving.  Neighbors saying hello and nodding at one another as they pass on the street.  It really is a wonderful neighborhood. 

In an unexpected twist, Theo chose the stroller over the wagon for our last family walk.

Ordering our treats.

The air conditioned store was a nice break.

This is what we get now when we tell him to smile for the camera. 

I WANT ICE CREAM.

Monumental day, monumental first:  His very own ice cream cone.

And boy did he make that thing disappear, down to the last bite of cone.

Now that's a good big brother!

Theo decided he wanted to walk/run home - the whole .8 mi home!

He knows the way.

It was getting dark so we went inside and turned on a little Lightning McQueen to end our day with some normalcy.  We tried explaining what is happening to Theo but I don't know how much he understands.  He just keeps saying "I wanna go to mommy's house."  When we tell him we can't, he says "my stuff's all gone!" We took him there after we had moved everything out.  He thought it was fun hearing his own echo and driving his Little Tikes car as fast as he could through the empty rooms.  

xo,

~C~