together

Last week we made a family venture to the park on breezy Spring evening. It was a lovely night for a walk and some playful pictures at the park with our new camera. Scott got us a Canon Rebel T2i (I think) from one of his many colleagues on Craigslist. It was a great purchase and I am loving it. I'm going to have WAY too many pictures now though! I still need to monkey with the settings and figure out what I'm doing- I think a class is in order, but for now, here are some pics from the park recently.

 A rare mommy sighting... I must have had to set the camera down for something...

 Jaxon, trying his best to get those darned rocks out of his shoes. Can't quite figure out how they keep getting in there, even though Spider Man is protecting his feet.

 Kiley, looking all cute in her little bonnet. She did pretty good playing with the sand and not trying to eat it.

 And the two of them, heading down the slide together.

It's been so fun lately watching these two together. I can't believe how much it reminds me of my brother and I. Not that I remember when I was one, but I just remember he and I always being in cahoots together one day and then the next day completely ripping each others' hair out on my grandma's living room floor, with her screaming- 'just you wait until your grandpa gets home!' as if the threat of our 'mean old grandpa' was going to get us to stop wrestling. Sometimes it did. Other times I think we made my grandma crazy and put lots of gray hairs on her head.

I keep wondering what Kiley and Jaxon will be like when they get a little older. Kiley is crawling all over the place now. I remember when she didn't do much and Jaxon didn't much care for her. My how quickly that changes. She's the first person he asks about when he wakes up or comes home from an outing with one of us. He has been giving her hugs and kisses and of course pulling her from places she's not supposed to be. He hasn't quite learned to share his toys with her, though if there are treats involved, he's usually pretty nice. I do believe he would do quite simply anything for her though...maybe will be a few years before he realizes that though.

And Kiley is believe it or not, completely in awe of Jaxon. He dances or spanks his butt and runs around the house naked (a frequent occurrence these days), and she is giggling and shrieking with delight. She sees an empty crib in her room after nap time and immediately says 'guh!' (we think her nickname for Jaxon) and points to his crib. She's also very mobile now and isn't afraid to just throw herself on Jaxon or take what he's playing with. It's almost like she knows what the consequences are going to be (yelling, maybe hitting, pushing for sure), but does it anyway.

I love it. Watching them grow up, each on their own with their own individual personalities is amazing. But watching them interact, play, squabble and fight, learn and teach one another is even more wonderful.

I mean, don't they make a great team?

years from now...

**Years from now, we'll remember...

the days that didn't turn out as planned but were perfect just the same...

the times when we put aside our important things to do, to just play or listen...

The great big thankful grins on little faces that give us back more than words could ever say...

the proud tears in our eyes when we watched our children go out and accomplish things that we never could have done...

Years from now, what we'll remember most are all the unexpected moments when we have been touched by love.

Happy web-belated mother's day to all the moms out there, especially mine. You are the best.

(**Yes, this is a catch-up post because I've been too busy to share all the cuteness in these photos and I decided to just plageurize my mother's day card. More real posts to come!)

this is my life

Do you ever have those moments?

They might hit you in the morning when you first wake up, groggy from the sleep you never got.

Or, they may come while you're at work, after you realize you've got one black boot on and one brown boot on.

Sometimes, the moments hit you when you least expect it, like when you're out for a walk with your kids and your baby drops her pacifier on the ground and without hesitation you pick it up, put it in your mouth to clean it, and then give it back to her without so much as a sideways glance to see what the neighbors are thinking.         

These are the moments that cause me to sit back and say.

This is my life.

I don't know how I got here, but I am so blessed to be here.

Moments like these, when you realize, it's too darn cold to do anything fun or go anywhere, so you just hunker down inside the house and spread chocolate cake on each other's faces. Just for something to do. For laughs and giggles. Scott and I look at each other with a knowing look. This is our life.

Days when we get to spend a little extra time with Jaxon after Kiley's gone to bed, enjoying his silliness. If I could bottle up his silliness... oh the money I could make.  This is my life.

When I look up from getting Kiley dressed, and realize Jaxon is running around the bed in her 6-9 month green Children's Place pants...oh yes, this is my life.

We had dinner at the Olive Garden for my birthday a couple weeks ago. We walked in and all I could think was, Ohmygoshthisissofancy! And bonus- unlimited breadsticks and salad. As Kiley began to get a rash from her pasta sauce, we asked for the dessert and check before we finished our meal. Then Scott grabbed boxes from the waitresses tray and started packing up. This is our life.

Last week Jaxon had his first real dentist appointment. Of course he was scared to death when he sat with me in the chair, but as soon as we switched and Scott took him, he was all about the 'Aaaahhh!' and let the dentist do whatever they wanted to his mouth. A twinge of jealousy, but mostly gratitude for such an amazing husband. So glad this is my life.

These are the moments I remember every day. When I'm daydreaming in a meeting or out for a run, I have these thoughts, images, stories in my head. Jaxon's words of wisdom. Kiley's cries of wanting to do more. And Scott's constant question- can I golf on Friday?

This is my life. And I love every minute of it.