Life as I Know It

The other day Ryan snapped a few pictures when Trenton was having a little breakdown in the kitchen. I love this photo because it captures my life so well right now. First of all, this is what I wear practically all the time, since we go to the YMCA most every morning. Second, comforting Trenton when he stubs his toe or freaks out because we're out of fruit snacks is a big part of my job! Here I am in the middle of cooking dinner, looking just like I always do, doing what I'm pretty much always doing. :)


And just for fun, here's a typical day in these parts...

• 6:30 wake up to Ryan's alarm, (lovingly) elbow him until he hears it.
• 7:00 get out of bed when Chase starts crying, feed Chase, make oatmeal, iron Ryan's shirt, Trenton wakes, get both boys and myself fed and dressed
  
• 8:00 on our way to the YMCA
• 9:45 - 12:00 home from the Y, watch PBS, play blocks, clean house, feed Trenton lunch, Chase's second nap of the day sometime around 11am
  
• 12:00 Trenton goes down for nap!! I get some alone time with Chase, and then Chase's third nap usually overlaps with Trenton's for about 30 minutes (love that!)
• 2:00 - 5:00 Trenton wakes, I clean some more, possibly run an errand, go to a park, go on a walk, or have a friend over (Today we met our friend & neighbor, Leigh and Baby Clara, by the pool)
  
• 5:15 (ish) Chase wakes from his fourth nap, feed Trenton dinner, bathe one or both boys, cook if Ryan's going to be home in time for dinner, straighten the house one more time
  
• 7:00 Chase goes to bed!
  
• 7:30 Bedtime routine and Trenton goes to bed!
  
• Ryan gets home who knows when! :) Lately, it's between 7 and 8. Not bad!
• Relax / get things done / relish my down time
  
• 10:00pm Feed Chase and go to bed between 10:30 and 11!
• (Probably feed Chase again around 4 or 5am)
  

"Pa-Peen!" Part 2

Our camping destination was Butano State Park, which is near the small town of Pescadero, about an hour down the coast. It was a gorgeous campsite, tucked away in the redwoods but only miles from the ocean. We knew camping with two little ones would be a lot of work, but we hoped that Trenton's sheer joy would make it worthwhile. It definitely did. Just don't ask when our next trip is scheduled... :) Give us a day or two to regroup!

Really roughing it, obviously. :)

Possibly my favorite part of the mini-trip was our visit to a you-pick berry farm, Phipps Farm. We picked olallieberries, which are apparently a cross between a blackberry and a loganberry. I think I've found a new hobby—visiting you-pick farms all summer long!

Phipps Farm was authentic - no showy touristy stuff here. But that was part of its charm. Trenton loved looking at all the animals, from goats to chickens to peacocks to guinea pigs.

As for the berry picking...After a few minutes of eating as many blackberries as possible, he had had his fill and seemed to be more open to learning how to pick the dark ones. He walked around the whole time exclaiming either "Good! Good!" or "Dark! Dark!"

"Good!"

Guilty. We told them to round up when we paid for our blackberries. :)

By the end, he was a little professional.

Back at the campsite, we cooked tin foil dinners and roasted marshmellows for shmores. After a failed attempt at putting Trenton to sleep in the tent, which resulted in him poking his head through the door shouting "Hi! Hi!" until we caved, we let him stay up until he fell asleep in my arms watching the fire.

Both boys slept well. It was funny to hear Trenton sleep talk a couple of times, and Chase only woke once for a feeding. (Thank goodness for our JetBoil! That thing warms up water for bottles faster than the microwave!) It rained/misted throughout the night, which sounded beautiful at the time but made packing up a bit more tricky in the morning. :)

All in all, it went smoother than we had hoped with two tikes under age 2. Next time we'll just have to have some friends come along!

"Pa-Peen!" (Trenton talk for "Camping!")

We're back from camping, and I can't wait to tell you all about it! It was a blast, but a LOT of work! For now we're busy airing out the tent (we got rained on) and washing all our clothes that smell like a campfire!

I love this photo because it perfectly captures the feeling of being inside our big red tent.

Will update soon...

Happy Father's Day!

Isn't this what a guy should look like on Father's Day?


Happy Father's Day, hon. Trenton and Chase adore you. I love to watch you and Trenton play tigers on your hands and knees. I love it even more when Trenton wakes up in the morning and immediately starts roar-ing in his crib, waiting for you to come play with him. They are lucky boys to be raised by a great man.


On another note, this is the hydrangea Ryan got me for Father's Day. Yes, you read that right: He got ME a Father's Day gift. (I think it's finally sinking in with him how much I looove holidays. True, I didn't really have Father's Day in mind, but I'll take it!)

I love you, babe!


PS. The other plant in my tomato plant. I drag it all around the patio most days trying to maximize its sun exposure. :) Hopefully it will pay off.

Brothers

So, I'm sure this won't be too hard for most of you... But name that baby!!



Trenton was a little younger than Chase when his picture was taken. He was always bigger than Chase, though, so they're comparable in size in these two photos. Whenever people ask me if they look alike as babies, I say they look like brothers but not little duplicates. Or do they even look like brothers?

Also, do you see any of Ryan or me in our babies? I don't really, but that might be because I'm too close to the situation to really see it.

What Handsome Little Men

All I can say is, aren't our boys beautiful?

Trenton is bursting at the seems with personality. Lately he has begun exploring emotions, which is fun to observe. The other day he was particularly upset when Ryan left for work. About 20 minutes later, as I loaded the boys in the car to head for the YMCA, Trenton solemnly said, "Dad? Gone." Pause. "Sad." Then he continued to repeat this word series as we drove, combining it with his sad face (which actually looks more like a grimace). He's already using his new awareness of emotion to his advantage...Putting on a big show with his "sad face" in order to get extra attention. It's pretty funny.


Chase is plumbing up and smiling tons. He LOVES to be outside! Sometimes I can buy myself up to half an hour by just setting him outside on the patio in the stroller. He loves to look around and feel the breeze on his face.

Changing

I've had a lot of serious things on my mind lately. And let's be honest; that's not always the case. Often it's too easy to get caught up in, Which nap is this—Chase's third or fourth for the day? and, When in the world am I going to pick up those X-rays? Preferably without having to get both boys out of the car and load them back in 10 minutes later...

But lately, suddenly, I'm all fired up about becoming a better person.

I've been married for 4 1/2 years, and just like I'm not ashamed to admit that motherhood is hard, I'm also not ashamed to admit that marriage is hard. (It's probably because I'm just not the easiest person to be married to. :) So it's time for a marriage tune-up. Ryan and I are working on criticizing each other less and appreciating each other more.

Next up, I want to sponsor a child in Africa. I'm eager to do it, and Ryan is on board, but it's a big commitment to sponsor a child for years to come (even if it is only $25-35/month). Once I find the right organization to go through, I'll let you know.

For years I've been interested in foster care or foster care adoption. I'm not committing us by writing this, because it's too big of a decision to make without putting in a lot of research and thought—probably years' worth of thought, in fact. But the thought is always there.

I'm trying to look more for needs in other people. Sometimes I think that managing this complex has squelched that quality in me. Instead of looking for ways to help my neighbor, a lot of times I duck my head and just hope they don't ask me for anything! It's time for a change of heart...

I wish my brain were capable of doing more at once. There are so many things I want to change about myself, but I feel like my feeble human brain is always holding me back. Does anyone else feel like that?

And the very last thing I'm trying to do lately—see the forest for the trees. Life is good.

Free as a Bird

Other than the very early newborn days, this is Chase's first unswaddled nap.

3 1/2 months

I love swaddling because both my boys learned to fall asleep on their own very quickly. Now that Chase is proficient in that department, I thought I'd see how he did without being all bundled up. He squawked for about two minutes and then was out cold! I'm excited about this transition, though I make no promises that I'll keep it up. Swaddling is what I'm most comfortable with. Poor Trenton was swaddled until he was like 9 months old—and he was a not a small baby! Haha, anyway, just thought I'd share...

By the way, in case you were wondering, Chase sleeps in the bassinet in the guest bathroom. :)

Today...

So far, today has been one of those days where it feels like motherhood just picked you up by your peanut butter-covered T-shirt and kicked you in the pants. I'm not ashamed to admit that this job is HARD!

BUT I just discovered three boxes of Life that I had hidden, so that helps. Come join me for a bowl of Life! (As long as you don't mind a child or two yelling in the background! Love those little sweethearts.)

Image not reflective of today's state of affairs. :)