Boys, Boys, Boys...

I'm learning all kinds of things about my little boy these days. Besides the frequency of bruising, that is.

Today we went for a family walk/bike ride after church. It was a gorgeous day here in the not-so-rainy Pacific Northwest. (I have some fun pictures of our walk/bike ride, but blogger is not cooperating at the moment.... I'll try again later.)

Anyhow... back to our afternoon outside.

Reagan rode her bike the entire time.

Ian, on the other hand, was a different story. He would get on his "bike" (I use the term loosely...), ride a few feet and then see a rock, stick, pine cone or other piece of nature that MUST BE PICKED UP RIGHT NOW.

If it was a stick, it was immediately transformed into either a golf club or baseball bat. He would take a swing and then throw it into the woods. We took a break at one point to toss pebbles into a little pond and after that it took FOREVER to finish the walk because every single rock we came upon had to be thrown into the nearest pond/puddle/any form of water Ian could find.

Then there were the dogs. It was a busy day on the walking trail, and therefore we encountered a ton of dogs. If Ian happened to be on his bike when a dog would pass, he had to get off and investigate. If I let him, he would have run up to any dog, no matter the size, and put his face right in front of the dogs face. (we have an amazing cat that lets the kids get as close as they want and therefore Ian thinks that all animals are like that). He met many dogs today. (One couple passed us walking 4 dogs, 2 of which really looked like hairless rats.)

Anyhow... it was a day of learning for this Mommy... I look forward to many more days like it.

But please Ian... please keep the bruises to a minimum. Thanks dude.

We had good intentions.... really.

Sunday night, Sean and I decided to clean out the pantry. This act of insanity was prompted by a very productive trip to Trader J0es that resulted in items that didn't fit into the pantry in its current state.

We lined up every.single.item. from the pantry onto our dining room table (and chairs) and took an inventory. We threw away a few things that had been in there far too long.... I even found something that had a pull date in 2003. Not good.

Anyhow... back to the reason for this post.

We were done cleaning things out and filling the pantry back up when Sean decided he wanted to "re-arrange" the baking shelf again. At this point I was in the garage looking for something. Then I heard it.... the crash.... and then Sean say "are you kidding me???". I quickly returned to the pantry and found Sean frozen in a lunge-like stance, with his leg and the floor covered in whole-wheat flour. Apparently his attempt at re-arranging the baking shelf angered the flour container and caused it to jump off of the shelf and explode into a lovely mess. I couldn't help but laugh! Thankfully he was laughing at this point too. He removed his flour covered clothing and stepped away from the spot he had been in at the time of the explosion. His footprint was still there.

So.... here's where it gets REALLY funny.... and, please know that I have permission to share this..... and Sean realized the moment he said it that it was hysterical. We're still laughing about it.


I finished vacuuming up the last of the flour, wiped up the floor and was closing the pantry so we could finally sit down and fast forward through the Oscars.... when he offers his help in the final clean up. He surveys the pantry and surrounding floor and says: "Should I go get the leaf blower to get the last of the flour out?"


Really, Sean? A leaf blower? So we can blow flour all over the entire house? And wake up the sleeping children?


Oh my goodness.... we laughed for quite some time about this.... and then we laughed again tonight about it too.


You might not think it was as funny as we did.... but then again, we think a lot of things are funny.

Happy toes!

Reagan and I got some new shoes from Daddy for Valentine's Day! Don't our feet look happy??

The Letter Y!

Reagan is obsessed with letter recognition right now. Everywhere we go she points out all the letters we see. It is so fun to see her excited about learning!

Today, as she was going potty, I heard her holler from the bathroom....

"Mom! I found the letter 'Y' in the bathroom!"

I went in to check it out and this is what she saw... somehow the bathroom rug had been formed into the letter Y!

Can you see it?

Boys and Bruises

My poor little boy.

Don't worry... he's just fine.

But he really, really needs to quit running into things and falling down. His forehead might as well be one solid bruise. The things he comes up with are unreal. To top it off, this morning he chose to get off of the couch by going head first over the arm. Right smack onto the hardwood floor, forehead first. I dove at him, but missed by a few inches. I'll try to post a picture of the goose egg after his nap.

I remember Reagan being clumsy at this age, but Ian is 10 times that. He runs everywhere and therefore, when he does run into things it is at full force.

I watch him like a hawk already.... knowing how busy he is. But I'm seriously considering getting him a helmet or just wearing him around the house in the backpack. Just to give his head a break.

The other night, we were at a friend's house and I was showing Sara and Leah the bruises on his head... they both have boys and were reassuring me that it is totally normal... Not 30 seconds after I set him down, he ran right into the corner of the nearest wall. Just walking without looking. Seriously Ian?! You're going to give Mommy an ulcer.

Wahoo!!! It snowed!

This morning, we woke up to 3+ inches of snow.... I LOVE waking up to snow! It rarely happens here and when it does, I can hardly wait to get outside. Some of it has melted now, but we're supposed to get another round tonight and tomorrow. Bring it on!!!

I went out early to take some pictures before it started to melt. It was absolutely beautiful!

Later in the morning, we went over to my sister's house to play outside. We had a blast! In fact, when I took off Ian's hat his head was drenched in sweat.... he played hard!

Here are Reagan and Tatum working on our snowman.....

Asher and I played "baseball" with a snowball and a shovel. He hit my poorly pitched snowballs almost every time! (Nice pitching form, right??)

Two products we love...

I really enjoy it when other moms share products, places, and ideas that work for their family. Therefore, I thought I'd share two of our new favorite products! This winter we have discovered THIS and THIS.

Anytime the kids have been congested or had a cough, we rub the balm on their chest and feet before they go to bed.... we have not had a single night of coughing since we started using it!

Ian has always had sensitive skin--- especially on his face. In the cold of winter he gets red and chapped. The ointment has worked wonders.... and we have tried everything out there. This is the first one that actually helps!

I can't say enough about both of these things.... they are hard to find.... but worth the effort!

Please read...

You need to go and read my sister's blog.... Her eyes have recently been opened to some very specific needs of children in Zambia, Africa.

Click HERE to read. And.... please help if you can.

God Bless YOU!

A great belly laugh...

Reagan's new favorite breakfast food...

Yep, that's a Grapefruit!

I guess I shouldn't be surprised though.... she also likes to eat Limes.