A Room for Boone...

When we found out we were expecting Boone we were SO surprised.  We sat on that news for a bit, just Ryan and I, and we let the idea settle in.  We were thrilled, of course, but also taken aback.  I don't know why, exactly -- it's not as if we have EVER been able to plan the arrival of all our little miracle babies -- but still; we thought we had arrived at "our complete family" - so it took a moment.

Once we wrapped our brains and our hearts around the arrival of another sweet baby boy - my mind immediately went to a nursery.  Is that a thing?  Like a little girl who dreams about her wedding day? I propose it is an actual thing.  When you learn you'll be welcoming a baby, your mind goes to "that space" you'll create for them.  That magical spot you carve out in your home where you will rock them and feed them and swaddle them and change them.  I am a lover of a good nursery... so there went my heart and my hands, to creating a perfect one for Boone.

I started off with an idea and some things we had (which wasn't much).  We had a crib... Hallelujah! We had a European mount of a deer, thanks to RyGar.  It was hanging in the storage room and every time RyGar went to fetch a can of chicken broth for me, he mentioned it in terms of "what a shame to hang that thing in our storage room".  I know - I know, poor baby.  :)  And we had a rocking chair.  A nice, leather, plush number that was holding Ryan's jacket in the corner of our room.  Lame sauce. We also had a feminine little white dresser that held off-season clothes in the guest bedroom.  It was far too sweet and girly, but it could be used if the right transformation took place.

And then I had a vision.

We went to Wayne County in the fall before Boone was born.  I had long had on my list of "things to do in Wayne County" a "lumber jack trip".  In case you didn't know, this is where your hubs packs his chain saw, and his mini lumberjacks watch in awe as he falls a dead tree and cuts it up for firewood, etc.  I requested a stump.  A perfectly aged, round, 36 inch high stump that would act as a side table in the corner right next to the aforementioned rocking chair.

What mama wants - mama sometimes gets.  :)

And now it sits -- oiled and weathered, holding a framed picture of my Baby Boone in it's perfect spot next to the rocker.  I LOVE it so hard.  Every time I look at it I will think of that brisk fall day when RyGar and I took the boys, along with Grandpa Hooky and Grandma Gail, to our mountains... and we snacked on roasted peanuts - mixed with saw dust.  Good times, guys.  Good times.

Boone... we didn't know how much we needed or wanted you.  Baby love... we do now!  We would build a thousand rooms to welcome you, little man.  You have brought so much love into our home and your brothers demonstrate the purest form of it toward you every day.  It is the best kind of magic to watch people interact with you.

So, enjoy your room.  It's full of some old things, some new things, some inexpensive things, some splurge things, some sentimental things, some cozy things, some things we made in anticipation of the arrival of something we really, really love -- You. 

This is your place.  This is your family.  We're so glad you're here.

Dat Wabbit...

How was it Easter this past weekend?  I mean it.  You can't throw daylight savings at us and then BLAMMO it's suddenly Easter in March in a snow storm!  I feel like it's against the rules of the Universe.  Regardless of whether we were ready or not - we played along and Easter arrived.

Our eggs got dyed.

Mostly lots of boy colors despite my introduction of a rainbow sponge kit wherein some pastel rainbow type eggs adorned the cardboard kit they came in to encourage bright and springy application... we ended up with grays, browns, blues and greens.  But on the bright side - they coordinated just perfectly with the camo hoodies they wore.

The bunny came and brought cute little "ball" shaped baskets for the boys. We are the proud owners of a collection of baseball, basketball, football and soccer ball easter baskets.  So naturally the little darlings of ours offered they're old "baby baskets" to Ryan and I.  So generous.  :)

Baby boy wears pink well, dontcha think?

 

I didn't even buy Easter outfits  - and that's a sure sign of "Easter done snuck up on this woman".  But I coordinated their duds anyway for our Sunday at church and they look pretty darn dapper no matter what they wear.

And then we were off for dinner and an egg hunt at Grandma "Jam"ice's and Grandpa Bob's.

Buuny ears for the win, boys!

Side Note - Ace wears this lion tail nearly every day.  He is seriously a "big cat" lover.  

If it has to do with tigers, lions or bears - ok not bears - he's in.

  The boys were "good lookers"  - they get it from their mama even though she's mostly looking like a tired troll these days.  :)

Big news... for Easter Boone only woke up once the entire night!  2 am and then a sleepy boy until 8 the next morning.  I could kiss that little bunny's face one zillion times for such a fantastic surprise!

And a bonus baby picture to wrap this post up...

Happy Happy Easter.

So grateful for my little family of men and all that Easter means.

The Sales Gig...

Can I say it's in their DNA?  Is that too braggadocios?  Well too bad, cause I think its coursing through their veins.  These boys of ours are sales guys.  They have a knack for gathering other boys in the hood to:

A.  Join them in chores - think unloading mulch from the back of the truck, pulling weeds or sweeping the driveway.  They kind of "Huck Finn" their duties with finesse and suddenly there are six boys out front weeding where once there was just our three.

B.  Recruiting an outside sales team.  They can coerce little dudes to ride the hood in search of buyers to purchase their junk.  No joke -- on Saturday they sold rocks.  ROCKS.  They had a posse excavating them, some folks washing them, and others selling them.  They came in with $1.75 and I marveled.  Monday they sold random shiz from the playroom a la McDonald's Happy Meal toys.  And they made over $3.00.  At one point I saw two friends pull up on scooters with fresh buyers in pursuit. "Look!  I brought some people to the sale!  They're ready to buy stuff!"  It's all so exciting they just get wrapped up in the adrenaline and voila - perfect system!

Yep.  These boys are salesmen.

This one was a little shady the other day....

Oh Ace Face, giving sales folks around the world a bad rap!

I was on the phone with my dad, two donuts sat on the counter for Kael who was due home from school any minute,  I got off the phone.  I asked Ace where the donuts were... he said straight-faced and serious as can be, 

"I don't know where the donuts went, Mom.... maybe a 'robbert' came and got 'em."  

Interesting theory little man.  Not buying what yer selling today little buddy.

 Luckily, he made up for it later.

 And this little chump is always buying what I'm selling... I love the view of those little legs from my perch in the nursing chair.  And Ace colors me zillions of pictures and delivers them in secret hiding places all day err day.  It's adorable.

As are all the brotherhood moments being lobbed at me left and right.

Dax told me last night, "Well, if you need someone to babysit Booners just give me a call."

LOL  But seriously - Sold, little dude.  Sold.

Turn that Calendar Page...

It's SPRING!  I kind of just sang that in my head "Anna Style" from Frozen.  It seemed appropriate and now that I'm typing about it - it really seems appropriate.  I think I'll do it again only louder with more vibrator - think opera style and sing it with me.... 

Spring is awesome!

Sure, it's still winter in the shade and summer in the sun - the tulips are bound to be covered in a blanket of snow or two before it's all said and done, but it's officially spring.

And that means summer is just around the corner!

SO... in absolutely no order, here are a few little spring things we've been enjoying:

The return of "All the boys in the hood in our front yard playing for hours". 

These friends are moving at the close of the school year and we're gonna MISS them!  Until then, bring on the bikes, scooters, baseball games, sidewalk chalk, kites and bug collecting.

Boone sleeping in the carseat. 

The doooood hasn't quite learned to love it just yet, so when he isn't crying about it - we celebrate.

Daddy feeding times and a little hand full of butt!

I don't know - tools?

"What are you doin' guys?"

"Projects."

"Fixin' stuff."

  "Diggin for rocks."

For two entire hours in the warm afternoon sun!

Which led to a rock sale wherein they actually earned money!  High fives, gents.

Safety Goggles.  All day - err day.

And those killer eyes that peer back at me from behind the cheap plastic.

New grins that show off little gaps where a tiny tooth once resided.

Dax is five dollars richer thanks to the tooth fairy celebrating his first lost ivory.

Brother heart-to-hearts.  I die.

The soothing powers of swaddles.

And binkies.  The only one he wants anything to do with and it's giant.

 Baby smiles that include goofy tongue action.

 Wild leprechaun raptor boy all jazzed up from a day full of green.

Sunday Snoozes.   

Happy Spring - Happy Spring - Happy Spring!!

Training...

There are certain things that I just count on for Spring.  One of them is the blooming of my golden forsythia bush in the back yard along with my fake forsythia branches inside - hey,

"Forsythia for President" is my life's spring motto.

The other thing is the return of baseball...

 Well, and Hersey's chocolate eggs, but come on - those need not the written word to celebrate them (in bulk).  Duh.

So back to baseball - Our two "big boys" are starting coach pitch this year, so their cute Daddy-o proposed taking them to spring training in Arizona.  I could not have jumped on board any faster if I tried.  The secret that all husbands who have little kids need to clue into is the fact that if they want to go somewhere - any where really - all they have to say is, "I would love to take our boys to X".

And voila - BAM - it's done.  RyGar could have said,

"I'd like to take our boys to their first ever Nascar race and then to Hooters to 'introduce them to the famous wings'," and I would have been all, 

"Oooooohhhhh - you're such a good Daddy!  Go!  Have fun!  I'll pack you some treats!"

So off they went.  To experience the ball fields, the love of the game, the dessert sun and all of my favorite eats from our Arizona days.  (It should be noted they rubbed it in profusely)

Here they are at my beloved Bahama Bucks - the best damn shaved ice on the planet.  And yep, the "damn" was the only way to go there.

I got the cutest updates via text with phone pictures attached wherein I stared at my phone screen grinning for far too long and even tearing up a time or two.  #sappy 

The boys were in Heaven.  And though Ryan said they were calm and not totally bouncing off the walls while they were at the games, the way they talked about them afterwards helped us know they are Cubs fans for life!  SO cute.

A pretty cool long weekend outing for a couple of little dudes - and shots like this help me remember they are indeed still my "little" gents.  :)

 Ace and I went to Richfield to see my parents and "the chicks" at IFA. 

Not surprising at all, the chicks totally dig Ace.  :)

Sure, it's no trip to Arizona, but any trip "home" is fine by me.  

Spring brings all the feelings of newness for me.  I want to change things up.  Try something new. Rearrange furniture and clean out my closet.  And I feel a resurgence of love that kind of consumes me at the emerging of one of my favorite seasons... for the people around me... my people. 

Sweet mother of all things holy, I love my people so much.

And tigers :)

Dang, I love my little tiger.

Happy to be in "spring training" in all aspects of life.

XO