Summer in our city

How quickly Summer days skate by.

This week finds us in July, relishing everything that is Summer in our glorious city...
splashing in the local pool...
attending Farmer's Market...
cool evenings around the chiminea making s'mores...
afternoon thunderstorms...
impromptu barbecue get-togethers with friends...
staying up late...
ice-cold beverages, fresh fruit, and meals-hot-off-the-grill...
ahhhh, Summer.

This week also finds me in my 31st week of pregnancy. Holy crap! Nine (short) weeks from now I will be the mama of three...three! My nesting instincts are starting to kick in and I've generated quite a list of "to-dos" before baby arrives. At the very top of the list, however, is just to gestate. Easy enough...especially since I'm still feeling pretty good.

Made a quick trip to Billings to visit all the grand-folks. Billings was enjoying sunnier weather than our beloved Bozeman so we followed the sun. Smiggy and Blake took advantage of Grammie Myers' pool and "no suit required" rule.

Matt and I have spent many evenings relaxing, chatting, being thankful for our home/yard/deck, making s'mores, and just enjoying each other's company in front of the chiminea.

Thursday mornings are set aside for play group with friends at our house. Coffee, juice, snacks, sun and water...all we need for a few hours of fun.

Most of my friends are pregnant...we're quite a site when all together - especially in public. (A very cute site, I think.) Sara, far left, delivered a sweet baby girl a week ago.

Pedicures for the pregnant.

When the weather refuses to cooperate, we head to PartiesRUs, where the kiddos can jump, slide, and wear themselves out on the air-filled play zone. Rebecca, Liz-a-boo, and Jack.

Smith enjoying the thrill of a huge, air-filled slide. I've been known to enjoy it a time or two myself.

Smith, again, giving the air-filled dog a head butt...no joke.

Early morning boys with their "draw-dos"...that is drivers, screw drivers.

Me and my no-longer-baby boys at a cabin on the Boulder.

Two

Dear Mason and Smith:

You are two. You are so two.
Oh boy, two is...challenging.
But, I've learned just enough to know that you won't be two forever.
And while I am challenged by your new defiance...er, independence, there is so much about two that I love and will miss when two becomes three.

I realize that you will not always...


fit on my lap
hold my hand
say "Up, peez" when you want to be held
wear your rain boots on the wrong feet
(wear rain boots at all)
call the slide a "wee"
want to have a hug, a kiss, rub noses, and bonk heads (in that order) before bed
be glad to see me first thing in the morning
point out every construction outhouse we see and say "Dada, pee pee."
let me choose your clothes
run around in just a saggy diaper
be unaware and unashamed of your bulging belly
cherish a plastic screwdriver you call "dry-do" (more precisely, "My dry-do!")
drop what you're doing and run to the door when Dada gets home
kiss me in front of your friends
find joy in simply throwing rocks and dandelion heads into the creek
want to cuddle and be held after I discipline you
push your belly-button and say "beep"

No, you will not always do these things. And I will miss them sorely. So, I write them down and hope that I will always remember what you were like when you were two.

S

M

Verbs

watching:: two little boys relishing a powder-sugar doughnut hole.

anticipating::the arrival of 3 new babes, due in June, to three of our favorite couple friends.

welcoming:: Spring surprises just outside the doors of a house we've only known in Winter...lilac bushes, an apple tree, baby bunnies, a sprinkler system, green grass, bird nests, SPACE!

appreciating::the satisfaction of finding a good bargain...a buttery-yellow chenille bedspread (for a bed? curtains? a baby blanket? Oh, the possibilities!) and a wicker basket to house my fabric for under $10 at a garage sale.

enjoying:: the many outdoor responsibilities that come with home-ownership...like mowing the lawn and filling the bird feeders.

laughing::at the plastic debris scattered in our backyard...we've earned the reputation of best yard for playing and sunning - we're so proud :).

hoping:: M and S's preoccupation with going "pee-pee" will lead to a successful and smooth transition into potty training.

savoring:: freshly baked homemade bread and its heavenly aroma...I found a second-hand bread machine and used Joy's Honey Wheat Flax bread recipe.

loving:: this delightful stage of my pregnancy...6 1/2 months along, not too tired, not too uncomfortable, pleasantly round, feeling the little one kick and stretch, still feeling cute.

wishing:: you all a wonderful, sun-soaked, fun-filled weekend!

Glenwood Springs

C. S. Lewis recommends living near your closest friends. When that isn't possible, the next best thing is to hop on a plane and just be near your closest friends for a spell. So, that's what I did - journeyed to Glenwood Springs, CO, to be near Joy and her family, to kiss on Selah Claire's sweet little cheeks, and to enjoy the company and familiarity of a life-long friend.

Oh, the simple sweet pleasures of a vacation without my little ones:

uninterrupted quiet time...
starting and finishing two books (unrelated to raising/disciplining/having children)...
savoring many delicious meals that I did not prepare...
homemade bread (anyone have a bread machine they are looking to rid themselves of?)...
long walks with Joy and by myself...
placing my cell phone/purse/glass of water/ipod/etc. on any available surface without worry that a little boy would destroy/spill/eat it...
sewing alongside a friend...
not being aware of the time...
giving my daily routine a much-needed rest...

and the sweetest pleasure of all - returning home to hugs, kisses, and cuddles from the little buddies that - by the end of the trip - I was aching to be with again.

We are back home in Bozeman with our doting husband/dad, refreshed and ready to dive back in to the beauty and bedlam that is our life.

The black maternity tank I am wearing was generously passed on to me by Joy. She never judged me for wearing it three...no, four days in a row. She must really love me ;).

Me and the little peanut.

Late night sewing of a baby dress. Joy has promised to post the finished product on her blog.

Mama and babe. We spent an afternoon in Aspen, rubbing shoulders with the ultra-rich, sharing a cheeseburger, and sipping iced lattes.

Thank you, Schneiters, for welcoming me into your life for a few days. Thank you, Schuylers and Myers, for caring for the two tornadoes that are my sons. Thank you, Matt, for encouraging and helping me take a vacation!

Birthday

I have shamefully few (good) pictures of either of the two parties I hosted for the boys' 2nd birthday, but as promised, I am sharing what I have with all of you. (If you have any pictures of the parties, please e-mail them to me or send a disc or whatever is easiest. Thank you!)

Little People Party

My sweet little MayMo on the morn of his 2nd birthday. Sensing he was older and more mature than the day before, he requested to sit in a chair rather than his high-chair.
Smigg-a-doo on the morn of his 2nd birthday. Observing that his brother opted for a chair, he realized that he,too, was old enough for a chair and did not need a booster seat. He is clearly quite proud of himself...as he should be!
The calm before the storm :). The boys opened birthday cards from their grandparents and great-grammie before all the little people arrived.
You would think I might have learned from last year's party that candles are not a favorite. Mason is not impressed with his candles (there are two on the cupcake, it just looks like one) and is actually quite hysterical towards them. Jack Oberly is sitting next to him.
Here I am removing Smiggy's candles from his cupcake. Not loving the candles...got it.
Kiddos and mamas enjoying a cupcake. 8 small children eating cupcakes = an unbelievable amount of crumbs. Oh, well...they were delicious...I should know, I had 3 of them :).

Big People Party

We brought our party to Billings for the family celebration. Schuylers + Nuttings + Myers + Bedfords + Wilsons = a whole lotta fun folks. The Moores helped me produce a sweet little slideshow of pictures from the first two years with M and S. The party-goers indulged me by watching it twice and "oohed" and "aahed" at all the right moments.

The men...doing manly things.

Grammie and Smith, wearing Grammie's glasses.
Aunt Janelle and second (?) cousin Aubyn. Lovely ladies.

Both parties turned out splendidly and since then, my two two-year-olds are proving themselves to be...well, two. Yikes.

2nd Birthday

At 4:21pm and 4:24pm today, Smith and Mason turn two years old. And while I'd like to wax poetic about how quickly time passes and how it was just yesterday we were bringing them home from the hospital...we just said "goodbye" to all the little friends and their mamas who came to our birthday party. (Eight children under 5, five mamas.) And I finally got the birthday boys somewhat calm and down for their nap - and I'm tired. And I want to sit and put my feet up and enjoy the silence.

My little MayMo and Smiggy are two...no longer baby boys. Hooray!
(Pictures of the party and the family party on Saturday are to come.)

Lazy or smart?

I think the person who coined the phrase "A picture says a thousand words" must have been lazy. Or maybe, I'm just lazy? Who wants to come up with or write a thousand words when you can just push a button and take a photo? Or in my case, post a photo...enjoy my laziness.

Papaw Dave and Mason at the Journey Easter egg hunt. 40, 000 plastic eggs and nearly as many people. Next year, we will host an Easter egg hunt at our house - less people, more fun.

As if they could get any cuter, M and S have begun to hold hands - in parking lots, crossing the street, walking to the car. I give them the option to hold my hand or each other's hand...they choose each other. Walking into the Emerson for the wedding.
I have shamefully few pictures of the wedding and even less of the lovely bride and handsome groom. I'll share what I've got. Rebecca and Lizabeth....L is not sure she wants her picture taken.

Mason and Matt.

Nephew and Father-of-the-Bride, Smith and Papaw Scott.

One of the few pictures of my sweetie and I where his eyes are open, he's smiling, and I look decent. It's clear we were having a good time at the wedding. I was told that it was an emotional ceremony...I didn't have the opportunity to shed any tears as I was wrangling two two-year-olds. Matt and I resorted to fruit snacks and sunglasses to keep them occupied and it worked...sorta. The wedding was certainly a great celebration and we are thrilled with our new brother-in-law.

Hannah and Aubyn.

The Easter weekend was crammed with wedding festivities so I held off giving the boys their Easter pails until the following Monday morning. Smith is eyeballing the chocolate carrots.

Mason enjoyed the stickers, flashlight, and candy - but he liked the paper grass the best...figures.

Mason, after consuming the chocolate carrot.

M, playing it cool, sporting the silly hat that Grammie Laurie gave him. (Laurie, I will send you copies of the pictures :)

Smiggy and his hat.

A friend returned the bouncy/vibrating baby seat we loaned her. My guys have taken a renewed interest in the seat, lounging in it throughout the day. Smith.

Amos-Moses.

Oh, the novelty of pockets in toddler clothing. Very cool dudes.

My little monkeys making funny faces at the dinner table.


My little monkeys jumping on their beds.