Something to Commit to Memory

One of my favorite things to spy for during the day are the wee one's chubby cheeks.

They jiggle when he runs around. Which means they're jiggling all day. 

Because the wee one never stops. 

I thought perhaps I'd cease wanting to gush them quite so often once the boy got bigger, but it's just not so. 

 

The jiggling only makes me want to gush them more.

Dancing Boy

The kid really enjoys him some Sesame Street. I'm so glad Netflix finally put some seasons on instant stream so my child could have something to watch while getting his hair cut.

Squishy and Gooey

I have been thinking so much over the past week how everything good in my life right now has come because of my decision to marry this man:

My lesson for Young Women on Sunday talked about marriage standards and how you should have a clear idea of the type of person you would like to end up with. I had no other experience to share with the girls than my own. I could only tell them how I was so glad I married Rich. The qualities that had attracted me to him. And how many of those things were listed on my own list made when I was was a young woman. I told them how my life is not perfect. That we are not the perfect couple. But how we are perfectly aligned in goals, values, and dreams. 

Although that man of mine does not feel the aching beauty of this, yet he loves me deeply still.

And together we created this baby boy. And my "Happily Ever After" is well underway.

And I'd want no other to be my baby daddy.

Rain, Rain, Go Away

It's monsoon season here. At least it feels that way when it rains every day, and most of the time it's rain trying to make a point. 

There have been some moments of sunshine between the clouds, and Devin's finger was getting tired from all the pointing and begging to just let the kid outside already, so we headed on out. 

It was a brisk afternoon, but Devin still enjoyed running back and forth on the cement. I have a feeling, these types of pictures are going to be very common come summertime. 

 

Let's just hope that after Rich's hard work, the kid will venture off the cement and onto the forthcoming grass.

The kid's not afraid of some heavy lifting. He's been working hard to get over his cold and grow some molars in the process.

It's been quite the long/short week. Stressful and fun and frustrating and blessed.

Because it's Friday

Honestly, my kid is the cutest.

And since I haven't posted pics for a bit, I needed to remember some things. 

He is very good at going up on tip toes. He says "uh-uh" then opens the drawer anyway. After it became apparent that this was a game--demonstrated by his coy little smile while saying "uh-uh," moving in slow motion toward the drawer to test my resolve, and then switching to lightning fast running once the permanent marker/stapler/scissors was in his hand--the drawer was emptied. I understand he needs to learn self-control and such, but he also needs to not run with scissors. I just didn't think he'd find that drawer so quickly. Clearly I am a first-time mom. Now he practices self-control with the drawer of Ziploc bags. He's not doing so well at listening about this drawer either. If you happen to receive something in a Ziploc bag from our house, there is a 99% chance it's been on the floor. But don't worry, the inside of the bag is pristine.

Oh, this boy loves his "ba!" We play a lot of basketball. The minute Rich walks in the door Devin is gunning for his ball so he can play with his daddy. Rich is lucky to even get a hug these days because Devin is so intent on playing with him instead of giving him loves. That is also why we're playing ball in the kitchen, Rich hadn't even had a chance to wash his hands and put his lunch things down before Devin was begging for some one-on-one.

He enjoys "cooking" with me. He loves having his own little drawer and tries to steal other things from the kitchen to add to his pile.

Though this picture is not from yesterday, yesterday was a good reading day. Devin amazed me with his growing vocabulary and tried out several new words I didn't know he could say or even understand, and pointed, without prompt, to several things in different books. He was even making a Cookie Monster sound. I really love reading with that kid and hearing his little voice.

He just looks so grown up here. He is getting to be such a big boy. He was very thirsty and switched off from cup to cup until he was fully satisfied. Then he threw both on the ground with some finality. Because you know we can never just nicely place our cup on the ground. We must always throw them. We're working on the "give it back to Mama when you're done" thing. 

I love being Mama.

Rich is 26

We celebrated the wonderful amazingness that is Rich on Friday. 

(Last Friday. It really has taken me a week to upload pictures--but really, we're lucky there are any pictures at all.) 

He turned 26, and is quite the handsome 26-year-old--in my opinion.

 Rich was trying to tell me something here. I think it was "Please stop taking pictures so I can eat my ice cream."

He started out the day with a french toast breakfast and a container-full of cookies to share with co-workers. Devin and I weren't able to meet him for lunch because we were doing some food storage canning, but Rich had a nice celebration with his friends at work. Rich's present was my very well-written candygram. He has cursed me since then because of all the sugar.

 We are obviously, still, the cutest couple in high school. 

After work, Rich and I headed out for dinner at TJ's in Lakeport. There are no pictures of Devin with his daddy on his big day. Sad. This was the first time we'd left Devin since our anniversary in September, very exciting! Big thanks to Sue for watching Devin and putting him to bed. Dinner was completely yummy, and Rich was happy with his choice in restaurant. We grabbed some ice cream on the way home and then watched a movie to round out the night. 

Kind of a low-key birthday, but I think Rich had a great time turning 26!

3.14

Fact: The wee one does not know what "no" means. Or rather, he chooses not to care when I'm saying no. I've tried various methods. "That's a no-no," "uh-uh," "please don't," "for the love of all that is pure and holy, stop." Nothing seems to phase him. He just looks at me with those big blue eyes completely unperturbed. Or, usually when he's discovered something sharp and pointy, he turns and runs away.

Even though he is sick and one would think his energy levels would be down, he has been in perpetual motion and has not listened to me once today. But, oh, how I love that 200-Ziploc-bag-dispersing child of mine.

Moving on to Pi Day. Because I needed something bright at the end of the trouble-trouble that was Devin today, I decided we would celebrate Pi Day with some coconut cream pie. 

First we had Family Home Evening where we sang a song and showed pictures, then ate our yummy pie, and had a family basketball game; then we put the kid with snot running out of his nose to bed so I could sit and catch my breath.

Another fact, or, rather, some advice: When you are given a nice, heavy marble rolling pin for your wedding, do not give it away as a White Elephant gift because you think you'll never use it. Three years will pass and you will suddenly enjoy making bread and pies and you'll be stuck using a cup.

Grandparent Weekend

Grandpa and Grandma Britton came for a quick weekend visit. Devin had a great time showing off his baller skills and loved having more attention than usual. 

Rich was able to go golfing his parents on Friday night and after we hit up the Shell Station for a try at the restaurant there. Rich also got some great help in the yard Saturday morning, plus an early birthday present of a wheelbarrow. No more carrying rocks around in buckets! Devin was sick, so Saturday wasn't very fun for him at first, but once the kid had a breathing treatment he was up for dinner and some more basketball. 

Love Grandparent time!

Some Outside Time

Since we had gorgeous weather on Tuesday, and because I am an awesome mom, after our walk to the mailbox I let Devin run around outside until it was nap time.

He says thanks Mom. You are absolutely fabulous.

The running around outside involved Devin running back and forth along the cement patio in the backyard. Because you know he was not about to go out into the uneven grass/weeds. Horrors! But treading the same trail for nearly 20 minutes does not get old when you are a mere one year two months and one week old.

Outside time supplies all sorts of wonderful things to discover. Like the rock Devin handed me, because, it was cool. And obviously we needed to discuss its merits. Except once he handed it to me I realized that it was, in fact, deer dropping. And not a rock. I immediately called a timeout and whisked the kid away for some mother/son hand washing and hand sanitizing.

Then we just read books until nap time. And prayed to not get the Hanta virus.

March Madness

Around these parts we love us some college basketball. We're gearing up for the Big Dance in a major way.

First, the wee one does a little dancing himself, accompanied by some vocal chord warm-ups.

Then he busts out the real moves and takes the ball to the hoop.

Rich likes to challenge this kid, so the hoop is getting higher and higher. Good thing Devin can go up on the tippiest of tip toes without batting an eye.

Normal, Everyday

Some sweet, simple scenes that occur everyday in our hanging out. 

Disclaimer: The following videos will, most likely, only be of interest to the grandparents. I have an inkling that others may not relish watching a 2-minute video of my kid wander aimlessly and squeal loudly, especially since there is no background music to tap your foot to. I mean, just in case you are wondering if I know that these videos are not going to be widely acclaimed as contenders for Best Picture, I do. 

He can point to his hair, nose, mouth, ears, and sometimes his tummy. And clearly he loves his daddy.

Please notice the "hitch" in his leg when he has to reach deep down into the toy bin. And yes, the floor is always covered with various books.

 Clearly "thank you" needs to be at the top of the list of things to learn.

"Bah" is his newest word (balloon). This came thanks to Sick Day for Amos McGee. It was just good luck that we got these balloons soon after he formed an attachment to that book.

I realize that it makes me look super cool and exciting when all I post about is bread and the kid. 

But. . . I saw this "Ode to Bread" video the other day and thought it was super cute. This is a cute video about the connective quality of bread. And it made me remember why I love bread. And why I can eat it by the loaf-full.

And THIS is the artisan bread I made! 

It's like we're in France, but not. It is a real tragedy that in my near-28 years of life I have not been to France. Or anyplace in Europe, for that matter. I shall console myself by eating my European-wanna-be bread by the loaf.

Sue lent me a book called Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day. The recipe was SO easy. Seriously. Flour, yeast, salt, and water. That's it. And now the dough is living in my fridge, waiting for me to make it into bread whenever I desire.

I'm feeling all sorts of accomplished about the ability to make bread. (Though I still have lots to learn in the forming and slashing departments.) And I have to focus on the positive aspect of bread baking because this new hobby is going to make me fat. I realize this. And naturally I'm pretty stoked about the certainty of having a gushy midsection.