Mother's Day

I have only been a Mother for (almost) 6 years, but these things are what I already know to be true:

Motherhood is a truly singular experience, there is nothing else like it on the planet.

Being a Mommy is being love and comfort incarnate for the tiny blessings that God himself placed in your care. I can't think of any greater honor.

Watching every single one of their firsts, cheering them on when they try their best to achieve something they've never been able to do before, seeing them succeed... all these things simply thrill a Mother's soul.

As a Mom, you feel your childrens' pain more clearly than you feel your own, and would absolutely give up your life for them in an instant.

I believe that Motherhood is one of the gifts God has given us- as a practical tool to show us (in smaller magnitude) how He cares for us.


It is an awe-inspiring love, a mother for her children. Bittersweet in every sense. That love never lessens, as their physical need for us diminishes, the love only grows and changes. And those changes mirror who her child is at that time... we learn to love them in different ways as they grow- from the completely dependent days of a helpless infant, to the struggle to keep them alive despite their toddlerhood curiosity, to the fiercely independent preschool days, and beyond.



Being "Mommy" is the most challenging, heartbreaking, heartwarming, frustrating, fulfilling, incredibly amazing adventure I have ever had. And we're just getting warmed up!

Reilly and Avery, I love you both "to the moon and back" and thank God for choosing me to be your Mommy!!!

Pancakes

Okay, I'm really sort of ashamed to admit this, but I recently made pancakes for the first time since Homemaking class in high school. Reason being, Joey would always make them, or we would go out for breakfast to Ol' South Pancake House. (The best, in my humble opinion.)

I just felt like I couldn't be a "real" Mom without possessing this skill set. So I bought myself a griddle, and tried my hand. And as it turns out, I'm not too shabby!!!

An ambitious start... oh yes, those are peanut butter chips!

Beauty Shot

As if peanut butter isn't perfect already... we warm it up and melt it. YUM.

I'll admit, it seems strange- peanut butter pancakes. But don't knock it till you've tried it!





The taste test... let's see if they measure up.





Looks like we've got a winner. Sorry Ol' South, we still love you though.





Now, that's a happy Joey!



All that is all that's left of Reilly's blueberry pancakes!!!



I can't tell you how wonderful it feels to be a "real" Mom. ;)

Avery is 18 Months Old !!!

Avery is 18 months old and is constantly moving. She is practically a blur. And she is so very chatty! She can repeat almost anything! And has begun to say 2-word phrases, like "Hi Momma". She can now pronounce Reilly's name perfectly, and you should have seen his face light up when he heard that!!! It was like puppies on Christmas Morning.

She LOVES washing her hands, as just an excuse to splash. She is very independent, case in point: she is really good at putting on her own pants.

She has her bedtime routine down. First, she says "Rock-a-baby" and we rock after her bath. Then, she says "Book" and of course we read a few. Then she says, "B" which is her favorite blanket. And finally, she points and says, "BED" and we lay her down and she drifts off to sleep. Yes, really. It's only fair, since Reilly was soooo difficult to put down when he was her age.



Her favorite foods are cereal bars and cantaloupe. (Which she asks for by name, a cereal bar is a "huh bah" and cantaloupe is simply "lope".)







She has become much more ambitious in her climbing... as in, I could find her running across our couch if I turn my back for even a few seconds!

She loves FLOWERS, and anything sparkly. She is a girl after my own heart.

Sniffing a dandelion

Oooh... that tickles !!

Avery is the most affectionate baby girl, she loves to give kisses and hugs to everyone she loves... and my- do we love our girl!

Kite Flyin'

At the beginning of May, we took advantage of the most windy day we had seen in a long time by flying Reilly's Spider-Man kite!! It was Avery's first kite flying experience, but she could take it or leave it. What really piques her interest you might ask??
F l o w e r s. (Technically weeds, but she loves them just the same.) Nothing else can hold her attention for so long.

The boys had that kite up so high, when Reilly lost his grip and the kite flew off toward the pond and actually struck a duck!!! That poor duck flapped and squawked and flew off as fast as his little wings could carry him. And yes, hearty laughter was had by all... well, everyone but the duck. It was quack-tastic. (That was for you, Mikey!)

We all ran after the kite, and Reilly and Joey rescued it from the pond. There was quite a bit of de-tangling that had to be done, but we're happy to report that Spider-Man survived his run-in with his new feathered-friend... and lived on to fly another day.

We also made sure to visit the new baby ducks at the pond before we left, and then headed to Nana & Granddad's for some watermelon!

Here are a few of my favorite pics from a really great day...

Just So Girly

As Avery was playing, we noticed the way she was carrying around this hot pink gift bag. Her movements were so ladylike and dainty... I just had to give her one of my old purses to see what she would do with it. (Notice the BIG smile!)


She just knew how to carry that purse!



And a little silly...


It brings such joy to my heart to see the girly-girliness in my sweet baby girl.

Dollar Hot Dog Night @ The Ballpark

We took Reilly to his very first Dollar Hot Dog Night at The Ballpark to watch the Rangers! (This is a tradition with Joey & I, and we decided to let Reilly in on it!) He's been to a few games with us before, but it's been a while. We thought it best to let Avery hang out with Nana & Granddad, since we know how much she enjoys sitting still while watching other people run around.

It was a GREAT game! The Rangers hit 5 Homeruns, and stomped the Oakland A's 10-1. Reilly made friends with the ladies sitting in front of us, they were calling him the Rangers' good luck charm... and he LOVED that.

The boys got their money's worth in hot dogs, and Reilly enjoyed some cotton candy and absolutely had to partake in the famous ice cream helmet. He was thrilled with his souvenirs: a baseball & plastic bat, and a personal fan that lights up with the words "Go Rangers". It turned super windy at the end of the game, which made us giggle. We had a blast!

Another family tradition in the making!!!

Spring Fling

The Saturday before Mother's Day, we had our first annual Spring Fling! I had been thinking about organizing one for quite a while... since I am all for building traditions. I understand that having traditions will help keep us close as we raise our children, and those traditions are also what will keep our kids coming back home- even after they have families of their own. So, here we go!

For our Spring Fling, the basic idea was messy outdoor fun for our whole family, plus Reilly chose his 2 closest friends to attend as well. :) The weather was absolutely perfect! We met at our house for lunch, and Joey grilled some delicious hamburgers! Then it was on to the park by our house for the Fling! (Of course I made t-shirts for everyone to wear, so they wouldn't mind getting a little messy!)

We began with some yard darts, baseball, and kite flying. The first official game was an Egg and Spoon Race. The teams were divided, and the competition began!!!

We also had a potato sack race, 3-Legged Race, water balloon toss (which quickly escalated into a water balloon FIGHT!) It was a free-for-all... no one was safe! I got Joey good, and that was fabulous! The last game was an Egg Toss, which wasn't as messy as I thought it would be! Well, except for Joey, but that was after the game was over. Sorry babe... that was so funny!

We finished with washers and water guns! It was such a perfect, wonderful day. We all made memories, which was the whole point!!! Until next Spring!

Hair & Other Stuff

I have been meaning to post these pics for a couple of months, this is Avery before the serious curl occurred.

Though I love this look on her, I think I favor the curls a little more. It sets her apart, and gives her a uniqueness. I used to feel animosity toward my own curls, because I felt different (when all I wanted was to have "normal" hair like everyone else) and also sadly doomed to the have same look for all eternity. Then, I grew up, and discovered the CHI flat iron, and now I actually feel fortunate to have such versatile hair. :) I will share these and many other of my discoveries with Avery as she grows, and hope she will realize how beautiful she is, curls or not. It is so important to me to make sure that my daughter doesn't confuse true beauty and grace with what's portrayed in magazines or on t.v. Because let's face it... that is a scary thought.

"But let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God's sight is very precious. " 1 Peter 3:4