Friday, February 25, 2011

Gage-isms

My sweet Gage is 2 years and almost 2 months old now. Being that age, he can truly exasperate me and stretch my patience sometimes, but mostly...Oh how I delight in him!

Our bedtime ritual consists of this these days:
We read books, say prayers, sometimes rock and sing, and then every time I lay him down he says, "Wait Mama, wait Mama!" I lean on his crib rail and say, "I'm waiting sweetpea." And he relaxes and smiles and we talk about things like what he is going to dream about. Usually "Thomas" is first on the list.

The camera is his favorite "toy"! He loves to take pictures of himself, and other things as of late. "My's" is his word for "mine". Something about that makes it easier on the ears. Although I am sure his little brother doesn't think so.

He so cutely and neatly lines his cars and trucks up in a train.
And then little brother comes along...You can see he's starting to move his cars away from those approaching little hands...

"I need that _____!" is his newest phrase. He fills it in with whatever he thinks he needs at the time.

He says in the sweetest voice you can possibly imagine, "Holda Mama, holda Mama" when he wants me to pick him up...usually it's a ploy to take him out of the grocery cart so he can walk, or have me put him up on the counter, etc. He sure knows how to get me to do it.

His belly is his favorite place to draw on, and place stickers.
Gage is definitely a typical two-year-old who likes to test the limits, but more than anything he makes being a mama so much fun!

Saturday, February 19, 2011

Joys

I just love moments like these...

On a walk on a beautiful day...

This is what I get to see.

Wednesday, February 16, 2011

Valentine's Goodies

I give credit to my mother for my love of holidays! Growing up she would always make them special, in very simple ways. Just waking up to my valentine gift waiting for me on the table every Feb. 14 was so fun!

This year, more than ever, I really got into Valentine's day! I think having children to indulge makes it so much more fun, even more than indulging my sweetheart (sorry hon!).

It all started with the adorable yarn hearts I found in a magazine that are super easy to make. Just a little homemade corn starch glue, yarn, and heart shaped cookie cutters are all you need!


To start the day off right the boys found their little presents on the table (red baskets from Hobby Lobby filled with Target dollar spot items) and then we had heart-shaped pancakes.

Eli still doesn't really have a clue what's going on, but he liked his pancake!

For lunch we cut out cheese hearts.

Between breakfast and lunch a little neighbor friend and her mommy came over for some Valentine fun (playdoh, coloring, and cookies!).

During naptime I worked like mad to finish Craig's homemade gift (a heart-shaped candy box filled with his favorites - Reeses PB Cups!) which I had to redo after a frustrating battle with the hot glue gun. The gun won the first round but I eventually conquered!

I did not expect it to be so challenging! The boys' homemade heart cards are the best part. :)

These are the cards we made for the grandparents:
The card I made for Craig: Which I presented to my sweetheart after the boys went to bed, along with steak, garlic mashed potatoes, grilled asparagus, and this:

Whew, what a much needed treat after some very early mornings and late nights lately due to a teething baby/toddler (still not walking yet, can he be called a toddler??), and long days trying to keep my head above water! There just seems to be so much to do and so little time these days.

But how I love to craft...and will always make time for that, even if it is at the last minute! :)

Friday, February 4, 2011

Recovering

This is what life is going to be like for Craig for a few weeks...


Lounging in his chair with the boys! Poor Mr. Craig had back surgery on Wednesday. He had a herniated disc and two bulging discs that needed repair. He has been miserable for quite some time so the surgery was a welcomed relief.

Grandma & Grandpa E are here so everything can continue to run smoothly...until Sunday that is, when they leave who knows how things will run! Craig is not to lift anything over 10 lbs for 6 weeks, so I think we're looking at a long month and a half ahead. I'm hoping that the extra work I'll have will burn off some extra calories.?!

On a side note, the "photo shoot" I had this morning with Craig and the boys got me laughing, hard! Eli was actually fussing and reaching for Gage's cup, but everytime I held the camera up he smiled a big grin.
It was so funny! I think our boy has figured out the concept of "cheese"!