Friday, October 28, 2011

a birthday letter

Here I am about an hour before meeting Harper.
Here I am after one heck of an hour...
and enjoying the moment every mommy dreams of for nine months,
snuggling my sweet, cuddly baby for the first time.
I have such happy memories of that day.
Can't believe it's already been two years.
And a note for the birthday boy:
Dear Harper,

Two years ago yesterday, you joined our family. You were carefully planned and much anticipated. I couldn’t wait to meet you, to look into your eyes, to hold you, to kiss you, and to watch you grow. 
What would our family have done without you, these last two years? You have taught us so much. 
First, you taught me that I could survive on less than three hours of sleep for days in a row. You taught your dad that he can't take his eyes off you boys for more than 2 seconds. You taught your brother to share, to love, and to protect. 

Your wonderful spirit is much needed in our home. Here are some of the things that make you so special:
  • You have very good manners and have the sweetest little thank yous I've ever heard. 
  • You absolutely love to snuggle. Any time, day or night. I melt a little every time you climb into my lap, lay your head on my shoulder, and wrap those pudgy arms around me.
  • You love hats! You have several, and make sure to put one on almost every time we leave the house.
  • You love going to the basketball gym with daddy, and you love when he tickles you.
  • You love to play (and get into trouble with Landon). You two are best friends and follow each other every where.
  • You especially love playing cars and throwing balls.
  • You love climbing on the counter tops and sneaking food (especially chocolate chips)
  • You take all the DVDs out of the entertainment center at least four times a day.
  • Your favorite shows right now are Sesame Street, Mickey Mouse Club, and "Do" (Scooby Doo)
  • You love blowing bubbles and helping mommy make cookies.
  • You love reading Daddy's Winning Hoops magazines. When things are too quiet, I often find you in my bed flipping through the pages and pointing out every ball and basketball hoop.
  • You love building "castles" with Landon out of every blanket pillow, and sofa cushion in the house, then jumping on it or hiding under it.
  • You loooove books. You ask for "one more" until we've read 14 stories before bed, and sometimes even ask to sleep with one. Some kids sleep with a stuffed animal or blanket, but you sleep with a book in your arms. 
  • You have unusually soft and silky skin. I'm hoping it's awhile before grow out of that sweet, baby-like softness.
  • You love gulping down daddy's Dr. Pepper when no one is looking.
  • You dislike when mommy or daddy leaves.
  • You also dislike bedtime and wearing a tie.
  • But mostly, you love everything. You are so easy-going, for which I am grateful.
You really are a special kid, Harper. You fill my heart with happiness. 
We love you so much!

Tuesday, October 25, 2011

life according to my i-phone

If you're not following me on Instagram, you are missing out.
I've been a pretty lame blogger lately,
but I have a good excuse.
I've been going to the gym twice a day.
(you would too if you had two boys and unlimited daycare).

Here's where I profess my undying love for Toms shoes. 
Even the boys have ditched all their other kicks in favor of Toms.
Best of all, for every pair of Toms shoes purchased, a pair is given to a child in need.
As you can see, it's time for them to get new ones already. 
Harper's birthday's tomorrow, in case you were wondering what to get him... 
He's a size 9. Huge, I know.
The boys are so into Halloween this year. 
They've worn a different costume pretty much every day this month.
And change their minds about what they want to be every .05903 seconds.

 In the past week, I have had three completely different hair colors.
 I decided I was sick of my highlights and wanted to be a red head. That obviously did not work out. So, I had to quickly cover my obnoxious strands with the darkest hair color possible.
I'm lucky to still have hair.
From blonde
to red orange
to dark brown.
I'm channeling my Cherokee roots.
 Here is the one and only way to get my boys to sleep.
Push them in the jogger stroller for hours at a time.
It's true, no break for me anymore.
Naps, how I miss them.
Pinterest has made me quite the cook lately.
This may be my favorite recipe I've tried so far.
 Harper's always been quite the ladies man.
He's submissive and easy to dominate. Girls appreciate that.
 Typical Harper and Landon.
Climbing on the counters and eating all the Reece's peanutbutter chips. Stinkers.
 Here's an example of dinner at our house. 
It's breaded tilapia (I tell the boys it's chicken fingers).
And yes, they love it.
 They love each other.
Harper's become obsessed with hats lately.
He's so funny, when we're getting ready to go some where,
he's always rushing around last minute saying,
"Wait, my hat! My hat!" 
Last of all,
Harper and Landon dumped out a 28 lb. bucket of laundry detergent this morning.
That was fun.

Oh, I love my boys. I really do.