friendship

MOPS could not have been more perfect this morning. (Mops is a biweekly gathering of about a hundred moms in our area, with childcare provided, an amazing breakfast provided, good company, various speakers....I know it sounds cheesy to any non-parents out there, believe me, I stood on that side of the fence once upon a recent time. But OH, open childcare & free food PLUS amazing women who just GET YOU? Let's just say that the last time I had to miss mops because max & I were sick, I just cried at home in my bed. It was THAT sad. Mops is wonderful!!)

We ladies kind of lucked out that mops fell on valentine's day this week. We got to wear pink, eat chocolate covered strawberries, receive bags of cookies from our sweet table leaders....AND best of all, I heard an amazing talk on friendship. It was so timely for me. I've been wrestling a lot lately with how to be a good friend, and the friendships in my life that are in flux due to big life changes for all of us. It's been a hard transition! And where in the friendship manual on this stuff?! I have been just STUCK lately, wishing for wisdom in this area.

And then a sweet couple of women got up on stage today, and shared very candidly about their friendship of 35 years. Pam & Wendy, thank you for your honesty!!! It was exactly what I've been praying for, and really needing to hear. SO MUCH WISDOM packed into a 40 minute talk.

(and I'm so thankful I had the presence of mind to whip out my phone and record nearly the entire thing! The first two minutes are a little muffled, but it should be good after that. Minus a few squeals from babies here or there....it IS a gathering of a hundred moms, after all.)

Please listen if you get the chance! I totally understand that 40 minutes is kind of a ridiculous amount of time to sacrifice during the day, so maybe put it on while you're doing dishes or something :) You could also click on the share button up there, download it quick (click share, then "link to mp3", then download) and put it on your ipod while you work out. Just giving you options here! Because really, we could all benefit from learning how to be better friends. It starts with us.

Happy Valentine's Day, everybody. My heart is so full today, from the talk this morning, from the lessons I continue to learn with my husband, from the love God has poured out on me, and all of us, for my mini-Valentine asleep in his crib right now. Thank God for love!

Chillin

Literally. It's cold out here!

-posted from my iPhone

Oh dear...

he's fully aware now that he isn't reaching his maximum potential, and he is trying to bust loose!

And you can imagine, by that video, that changing his diaper has become super fun. Especially when it's really messy. Which leads me to an event that just happened an hour ago... You know what? I'll just call it The Blowout to End Them All, and spare you all the details. You moms know the kind, though. Where you stand above your child in jaw-dropping silence, trying for a solid three or four minutes to figure out where to even begin. Max misunderstood it for "super-fun play time" and we made some memories.

Moving on, we had our second outing to a local swimming pool. It's a really great place to go on dreary days. There's an awesome kiddie play area, and a little lazy river. There's a $2 happy hour every day, so my friend Deb & I have gone together a couple of times with our little guys. Max was unsure at first, but I think he had a good time. Either way, I LOVE seeing my little man in a swimmer diaper and rash guard...holey cuteness. Ignore me, look at him:


here we are, me with my little shark, and Deb with her little Lobster (Samuel). We are excited for our boys to acknowledge each other. Right now they coexist, haha, but it will be fun when they recognize each other and play together.

we have, indeed, returned to grey & rainy weather. Oh yeah, I had forgotten it was February :)

God bless us, everyone.

Can you believe this winter we're having?! Every day I tell myself to soak up this 60+ degree weather & warm sunshine, and to be ready for the cold & rain to return...but it never does! I dont mean to tempt the weather gods, I am absolutely sure that winter will return at some point. But this is positively incredible. Max and I are getting to the park every day, going on long walks, running out to the car in t-shirts...I am overdosing on vitamin D. not really, but you get me. I know that this is all part of global warming, but if the polar ice caps melting is wrong, I dont want to be right.

Max ADORES swinging. He's a little daredevil, this kid. He likes to be pushed pretty high for such a small bean. He giggles and shrieks so loud, I kinda start blushing from the glances he draws. (Look at that negligent mom, pushing a tiny baby so high in the air!!! Good thing they don't see his other favorite pasttime, him flinging himself backward when you hold him, just to get the thrill of falling and being caught. Loves it. Heaven help the nursery worker holding him, who doesn't expect it. That will set my church pager off, for sure.)

In other respects, my babe is a total chicken. Use a vacuum, or blow dryer...and you'll have some major consoling to do for a hysterical baby. I can't NOT vacuum during the day. I can't just wait until he's asleep, because that will wake him for sure. So today I tried holding him while doing it, and he just sobbed like, "Why are you planning to feed me to this horrible machine?!" Any tips how to acclimate a baby to these kinds of noises?

max had his six month pediatric appointment today, complete with four vaccines. Poor baby went into the clinic slap-happy and giggling at everyone who glanced at him. That's gotta confuse a kid, to be rewarded by being stuck in both legs! Afterward I drove him out to Golden Gardens beach to unwind, swing for a bit, and then walk in sand for the first time. He was totally into it at first, and then...yup, hysterical tears. I guess sand is scary too : )

I love being a mom. It's the best in the whole world.

:: OH, also, I'm gonna try to stop posting so many Max pictures on facebook. I heard a phrase recently, about our kids sometimes becoming 'narcissistic extensions of ourselves.' I dont want to unpack that phrase for you (although I encourage you to think about it! google it, even. It's interesting stuff!), but basically...I dont want Max to exist for my benefit. I will try to update this blog more often, especially for my family living so far away ((a.k.a. two thousand miles away)) but am going to do my best to stop filling facebook photo albums with max pics ::

Little Sisterly

My sister wrote a sweet post about our upbringing as sisters, and just a few of the things we've learned along the way. This is a follow-up entry to that. I love you dear sister :) I love our memories!!  So here's my addendum to your post:

more things that we've learned along the way...

Hamsters are incredibly fragile. 

Failing a swimming test at summer camp is only bearable if your sister fails right along beside you.

You are not the boss of who I can have a crush on. 

Why can't baby birds be nursed back to health?

Weddings are not so difficult or expensive to plan as people would have you believe. All you need is a willing little brother for the groom, a plastic recorder as background music, and to get the word out to the neighborhood kids. 

Easy bake oven food is not delicious no matter how hard you pretend it is. 

Matching clothes is in the fine print of all sister contracts. 

Why can't baby bunnies be nursed back to health?

In the movie 101 Dalmatians, Cruella DeVille is actually saying, "Cheerio" and not "Tittio."  honest mistake. 

...let's write a book someday, shall we?

changes

man, my little guy isnt so tiny any more. this isn't the greatest picture to show how LONG he is, but he is so his father's son! Just a beanpole : ) He's rolling across the floor, and occasionally trying to get his knees underneath him! He's got a quick grip, loves to eat fruit & vegetables, enjoys hanging out with other babies, likes to dance around with me, ....flipped himself out of his bumbo ONTO the cat this afternoon, and is wearing 9 month clothes already (even if he isnt filling out the tummy part)!

that's him, all tired out from his baby gym class last week :P I know that in the past I've tended to fall into an unhealthy slump after the holidays die down, and the dead of winter sets in. I preemptively did some hunting around for good outings to do with a baby, while also getting really involved with MOPS, and a bunch of other friends....and suddenly we've had something going on nearly every single day! We went to a baby story/singalong at a local library last week, and max was amazed at the 22 other babies crawling around the room. He was so cute to watch. There was that gymnastics class, which was super fun...walks around green lake, trips to the beach, unexpected snow outings, and today we went to a fun indoor kiddo pool for the first time. He was such a champ in the water! Him & his buddy Samuel in their matching swimmer diapers was just about the cutest thing ever!

I fiiiinally got around to sewing the crib sheets that I had intended to forever ago. I was a little intimidated at the thought of sewing with elastic, but it really wasn't a big deal at all. Once I got the hang of it, I could crank one out pretty quickly. And they look like I bought them! Ended up with three...a lime green, bright orange, and one with Monopoly pieces all over it :P I also made that striped blue crib skirt up there. There are some pretty awesome discount fabric websites out there.

almost six months old. Loco!

the new year!

I know people say that babies grow and change quickly, but you never grasp HOW quickly until it's your own. Holey smokes. They don't grow fast, they grow in fast foward! I love it when max still takes his pacifier, just so he looks like my little baby again : )

We're having lots of fun trying all sorts of new foods, and so far he's proving to be a great eater. I've been grinding my own veggies for him, and I'm so impressed that he eats things that still have a little bit of texture to them. His favorite thing in the morning is applesauce with a little bit of cinnamon mixed in ;)

In December, my friend emily & i took our kiddos to see the gingerbread house display at the Sheraton Hotel downtown. Max & Francie were soooo cute together in their little christmas outfits!

Emily & I were both involved in a group of preggo girls last year, about seven of us who were all pregnant with our first babies. Em was the first to have her's, setting off the chain reaction of the rest of the babes. Max was the last one to come along, and it's so darn sweet to see all of the active little beans growing up now. I love it!

Christmas was a whole new level of fun and meaning this year with a little bambino in tow. We spent Christmas Eve and overnight down in Enumclaw, and Max was just sweet and caught up in all the excitement of watching Owen open presents. He DID freak out at the Christmas Eve service...he's not a huge fan of super loud music :) I can't wait for him to start to grasp the meaning of Christmas in the years to come!

I sat Max down a couple of weeks ago, and chopped off the little mullet he had working its way down his neck. That turned into me watching some youtube videos on how to cut guys' hair...and Jon actually let me do his next! We were both happy with how it turned out, so that was pretty exciting for me : )

I'm doing my best to get Max out of the house as much as I can, and out to see new things. We go on walks every day that it isnt pouring rain, and Rachel, Max & I took an outing to Discovery Park Beach the other day. I'm trying to brainstorm other "baby friendly" outings for the rest of the winter...we'll see what I come up with.

I love time with my boy. These days, however sleep deprived, are so precious to me. Thankful to have this season at home with him!!