Sweet Remy Blue Eyes

To Remy on his 3rd birthday...

I am still not quite sure how we got from this:

To this:

... so very quickly.  Watching you grow & change & learn is such an amazing adventure.
 I feel like I have know you forever... even before you were born I knew you.  My golden-haired boy with the rascally ways.

Your sweet smile, wet kisses & never-ending hugs are some of my very favorite things.  You give the best hugs of anyone in the whole wide world.

I love how your incredible brain works.  How you hear something one time & will bring it up weeks later, or make connections that I never thought you would understand.  To witness your beautiful creativity and blossoming imagination, makes my world a happy place.

I love how you are developing your very own relationship with your brother.  How it has nothing to do with me or your Dad.  And how you can make each other laugh like crazy.

I love that you challenge me.  That you are starting to make me think about why I believe the things that I do, so I may teach them to you & your brother.

Yesterday you asked me, "If cows make milk, what do dinosaurs make?"  It took me a full five minutes to come up with my answer... "bones."

 I love how you approach life with an endless well of exuberance.  From going to the grocery store, to helping match socks, to being at the beach... your level of enthusiasm never seems to waver.

 I love that when I ask you about your favorite part of school you almost always answer "snack."

I love that whenever we go for a walk, you end up with pockets full of rocks & treasures.  How you always stop to see some little flower or detail in a leaf.  Seeing things through your eyes, helps me slow down to take it all in.

I love that whenever people ask how old you are, you always answer, "five".

You knew exactly what you wanted this year... a rainbow cake with lots of frosting & sparkles.  With your help in the kitchen, it turned out just as you wished.

Happy Birthday Remy... may all your wishes come true.  We love you so very much!

You're Golden Baby

Have been having trouble getting it together to write this post.  And until this afternoon, I was stumped as to why.  Aside from the usual reason, the challenge of finding time to sit down to write when there are two little boys that need so much of me, this time it was something else.  It's because I am happy.  Content.  In the zone.  Living in each moment as it is happening.  Same routine, different mindset.  And for whatever reason the words flow more easily & I seem to do my best writing when I am struggling to figure something out, or to reconstruct a feeling or make a point.  Strange, but true.

Before William started back to work this week (night shifts, yuck!) we made a conscious effort to enjoy every last minute.  From a quick trip across the country to celebrate 50 years of love & life together, to a winter beach outing... we filled up every moment we could with adventure.

One of the downsides of choosing to marry later in life, is that it is unlikely William & I will reach such a milestone as our 50th wedding anniversary.  (Although I suppose you never know... I will be a youthful 87 & William a spry 92 when we get to that point!)  It was our honor & privilege to be with family & friends to mark the occasion of Bob & Vinka's Golden Anniversary.  We spent a beautiful afternoon at the museum, warm & cozy looking out on a snow-covered park, eating, drinking & being very merry.  Thank you Noni & Poppi for making it possible for us to be there with you celebrate.

The Grandkids (minus two little boys who stayed home with my Mom.)

Loved this collage of a life built together.

Bob & Vinka met at this couple's engagement party.

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As the countdown began for William's return to work we took off for a day trip to the coast.  It was a glorious sunny day when we arrived in the late afternoon and the boys loved tromping around the in sand & muck from the sea.  

Remy loved seeing his boot tracks in the sand

This one didn't really turn out but I just love his face in this shot... and those eyelashes.

A huge blanket of fog rolled in once we were far down the beach, bringing cold & damp to our bright day.  Quinn didn't seem to mind one bit...

Remy learns the hard way about the tide... a small wave knocked him down & he was not pleased.

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The next evening we managed to fit in a quick birthday wish before the work day (or more accurately, work night) began.  Happy birthday apple pie, since that's what he prefers.  Couldn't fit all 46 candles on it, so we made do with 4 singles & a 6.

Feeling golden all around... now it's night shifts & the daily challenge of keeping two kids occupied & quiet so Daddy can sleep.  Fingers crossed the weather will get better so we can play outside again soon!

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P.S. I have already sent a link to this video out to everyone I ever had an email address for... but in case you missed it, please check out this video created by my favorite blogger, Kelle Hampton.  She started a little fundraiser for the National Down Syndrome Society in honor of her daughter Nella's first birthday that quickly turned into a BIG fundraiser.  (Look for our Quinn at 2:40!)

The 53 hour trip & a beautiful thing

Just got back from a whirlwind trip to the east coast to celebrate my in-law's 50th wedding anniversary.  Filled with love & laughter & big snow storms... we had such a great time.  I have a ton of pictures to sort through & will do a proper post this week.

My all-time favorite blogger started a little fundraiser for kids with Down Syndrome on her site a few days ago.  It has now turned into a HUGE fundraiser with donations pouring in from around the world.  The response has truly renewed my faith in humankind.  Take a moment & join the world in celebrating Nella's first birthday.

Happy Holi-daze & Family Adventures

This year is one of the first we did not travel to see our extended family.  And although we really missed being with everyone, it was pretty nice to stay home.  No bags to pack, planes to catch, or boneless toddlers to cart through airport terminals.  Our first year just us, with two little boys who are actually interested in this Santa fella & the magic that surrounds him.  The responsibility of picking & choosing traditions from our own childhoods, creating new ones together & stepping back to watch our boys revel in it all, was pretty darn amazing. 

We started our festivities with a trip to the zoo to see Santa.  Braving the pouring rain, with a very cranky Quinn & minimally cooperative Remy, we set out to get the requisite "kid photo with Santa" checked off the list.  Luckily for us the rain stopped just as we pulled into the parking lot.  Not so luckily, Quinn's mood spiraled downward & he absolutely freaked out at the sight of the man in red.  The photo op was scrapped & we set out to visit the animals instead.  Turns out a rainy day is the perfect time to actually see the animals.

Those elusive Lions out in the open.

Remy loves wearing Daddy's hat.

Silly Daddy

We left the zoo & went straight to the tree lot to pick out our very first family Christmas tree.  We tromped through mud & more rain to pick out our little funky tree.  Decorating it was Remy's favorite part...

One of my very favorite ornaments... from Quinn's first Christmas.

Old man Dewey stayed underfoot to help.

Christmas Eve story-time with Daddy

Thank you Grandma for the cute matching PJ's!

Santa's helpers had a lot of work to do... assembling & wrapping & making magic happen.

Two very excited little boys on Christmas morning

Of course the $2.00 flashlights were the biggest hit!

Super Quinn & his magic cape.

Thank you Uncle Chris... Quinn loves his game.

One of our new traditions... homemade cinnamon rolls on Christmas morning.

Remy asked Santa for a BIG piggy bank.

 

The rain finally stopped the day after Christmas, so we packed up and went to the free-range dog park.  A bit of sunshine, exercise & lots of mud made for happy boys & dog.

Quinn's plans for going off-road are thwarted again.

My new favorite photo.

A big thank-you to Noni & Poppi for our membership to the Discovery Museum.  That place is amazing!  So much to explore & do... kept two little boys entertained for hours.

We ended that adventure with ice-cream on a freezing cold day.  Not even a dead battery in our car could put a damper on our mood that afternoon.  (Thankfully husband has mad skills finding kind souls with jumper cables.)  After the roller-coaster of emotions we went through before Christmas, these days together really helped to keep things in perspective.  We welcomed in the New Year with good friends & good food at our house... the kids outnumbered adults, but somehow we made it to midnight to toast to new beginnings.

And life goes on...  Happy New Year!