His Daddy should place him under arrest...

For impersonation of a police officer! Does he look like his Papa or what!?

 

Who says white boys can't jump?

Today Gavin tried his Jumparoo for the first time (thanks Grandpa!!), giving my arms a reprieve from all his jumping on my lap.

His half kangaroo brother was happy to show him the ropes on his neighboring trampoline! (Sigh, I remember when we actually had a coffee table, with artsy coffee table books in this living room. These do provide this momma with way more sanity and peace than our lovely table did though! Sorry, I digress...)

Note: in almost all of the pictures, the boys are a blur, theY were just in constant motion!

Watch here as Ethan shows Gavin the ropes. (visit www.livingingear.blogspot.com to view the video if reading this post through your email feed)

 

Gavin caught on soon enough!

Gavin taking a teething break.

"Weeeeeeeeeeee!!"

Side note: you might notice Gavin has a pillow below his feet. Well he's developmentally ready and has the neck/core strength to use the Jumparoo, but he also has his Daddy's genetic gift/curse... short legs! Hence the pillow.

Have you put something in your living space that the sanity factor offset the decor foul?

 

Throwback Thursday

I sort of treat our blog as a public scrapbook. I enjoy looking back at it time to time as a central spot I've placed fun memories or anecdotes and love showing favorite pictures to my friends and family that take time to visit. I do wish I had started it earlier so I had memories further back on here, so I thought, why not fix that? On Thursdays, I will share a photo from the past, hence the new tradition of Throwback Thursdays. Hope you enjoy!

This family wouldn't have existed but for this beautiful beginning and the love and support of our special family and friends. So, while more sentimental than most future Throwback Thursdays, there's no more perfect place to start.

 

Post-Mother's Day Reality Strikes!

Well that didn't take long.

12:30am:

Awoken by a hollering boy with a fever, angry that he had thrown his lovies into his brother's (empty) crib and couldn't have them. Unlucky for him, this Mommy is more stubborn than he is and stuck to her "You throw it out of your bed, you wait until morning to get it" rule. I'm not fond of playing fetch at midnight. (Between you and me, can you believe he doesn't get out of his bed to get them!? He could easily walk two feet and reach them!)

7am:

Ethan: I want frozen yogurt!

Me: We don't have any frozen yogurt.

Ethan: I NEED frozen yogurt!

Me: Ethan, yesterday we had frozen yogurt as a special treat because it was Mother's Day

Ethan: When is MY Mother's Day!?!?

 

9am:

Ethan: Corinne!!!

Me: [silently thinking, WTH!?! Is he calling me Corinne!?]

Ethan: [walks up to me and takes my hand] Corinne!! Come into the playroom!

Me: Ethan, my name is Mommy.

 

It's not even noon yet!

My Magical Mother's Day!

Today was a truly perfect Mother's Day, and my first with two sons!

When you have young children, the burden of celebrating Mother's Day really falls on the husband.  Chris asked what would be nice for the holiday and I had a few specific requests... 1. Time spent together relaxing just the four of us, 2. Make a craft I've always wanted to do together, mosaic stepping stones, and 3. Diaper free day, I wanted one day where all diapers and baths and bedtimes were Daddy's!

Chris fulfilled all those wishes...and more!

Once he got home from a full night shift, he sent me back to bed where Gavin and I napped until almost noon!  Then we went to our backyard to make our stepping stones for the sitting area I've been working on.  Here's how that went...

As I suspected, we didn't end up with Ethan's imprint.  While he's like many boys who love trucks, bugs, Dino's, and balls, he HATES getting his hands messy.  Maybe next year!  He had a great time picking the tiles though.

Chris surprised me with a treat he and Ethan had prepared for me, delicious chocolate covered strawberries!!! Yummy!

We had reservations for a nicer restaurant, but I asked if we could go somewhere more laid back just to enjoy each other and not worry if Ethan wanted to sing for us or how loud we giggled.  Five Guys it was, and so delicious.

We ended the day with the very rare treat of Fro Yo (Ethan's third time, ever!). Here he is discovering Daddy put some M&Ms in the cup!

Thank you to the best husband ever and to my two sons for changing me for the better in ways I'd never imagined.

I want to follow today's plan of casual togetherness and family craft every Mother's Day, It just couldn't have been more perfect to me.

Do you have a Mother's Day tradition you follow or want to begin?

Who knew giraffes were so delicious?

Thank you Aunt Tina for my first favorite teether, a little Sophie. It's just like big bro's that he got his first Christmas.

But as the family's most thoughtful gift giver, you knew that!

Gardening in Gear

Last summer, in my quest to accomplish things that would be hard to do once pregnant or with another baby, I undertook tasks like bathroom renovations and building a garden. Well Ethan and I had such a blast the first time we built our first raised bed garden that I decided to expand it this year, this time with a baby strapped to my chest!

Here's the start of our gardening in gear!

The first day we pulled all the weeds that had taken over our garden . Ethan then "made tunnels" for the worms.

After he would find a worm, he'd play with it and then put it in the dirt so it could "find its family." (totally inspired by "Go Diego Go!")

Have you ever tried gardening or yard work with your toddler?

Stay tuned to see how our gardening grows!