Ollie & Yia Yia

Over the last week, we enjoyed a lot of quality time with our Yia Yia! We miss you, YY!

Hiking

Ellis wanted to hike and "look for interesting things" after one of our many delicious Thanksgiving feasts. I was happy for the opportunity to get a little exercise in, as well as spend some quality time with Ellis (there were plenty of volunteers to hold Oliver indoors). With Uncle Logan's help, we found some interesting things, like a dried up creek, sticks, and mushroom spores.

Dog Walker

Ollie may have a future as a professional dog walker, if his current interest is any indication...

Armies

Ellis plays for hours on end with his army men, or "armies," as he calls them. They were left by the former occupants of my mom's new house, for which Ellis is very grateful.

Heading Home

We had a great Thanksgiving, and now we're headed home. In between unpacking, laundry, and getting settled back in at home, I hope to get some photos uploaded and onto the blog soon.

I hope you had a great Thanksgiving too.

Gratitude: Mama Comforts

Today, I'm grateful for baby carriers and nursing for their ability to comfort a snotty, teething baby and keep him close to me while I accomplish what I need to.

Gratitude: Independence

If you've raised a toddler, you've probably heard it: "No, Mama! I do it!" Oliver is in this stage right now. No help, thank you. I'll do it myself, even if it's ten times harder and takes six times as long. In the short term, this is inconvenient, but in the long run, independence and self sufficiency really are blessings.

Gratitude: Neighbors

Today, I'm thankful for my neighbors. Namely, for the one who took my two children this morning for 3 hours while I cleaned closets. Three whole hours of uninterrupted cleaning time! That's like, unprecedented! Three hours!

And no, you can't see a picture of what my house looked like before. But here's my organized coat closet. Grandma will NOT be crushed in an avalanche of coats and shoes on Thanksgiving! Not on my watch, anyway.

Gratitude: Improvement

Do I dare even write this? I'm not really superstitious, so here goes...

Today, I'm thankful for improvement. That things are getting easier. That a full 24 hours by myself with the boys doesn't constitute a crisis. That we can travel across the city to see a friend without serious car drama. That, in general, my load feels lighter.

Last night Oliver was cranky and asked to be put in the sling. As I carried him, he nursed on and off, then started pointing in his mouth, then at the kitchen cabinets. I asked him if he wanted several things and he shook his head "no," and then finally I got to the cabinet where we keep medicine. I held up the infant ibuprofen bottle and asked him if he needed some medicine and he started nodding his head furiously. Poor baby! His teeth hurt!

Sad as that was, it's an improvement. It's an indication that Oliver is better able to communicate his needs to me, and that I spend less time playing the "why's baby crying?" guessing game.

Similarly, Ellis is maturing. And they're occasionally playing in the same room without any screeching or screaming, "He's touching my stuff!!"

I don't really have a photo to show improvement, but I do have a couple cute cell phone pics.

Gratitude: These Two Guys

Gratitude: Big, Warm Bed

Today, I'm thankful for a big, warm, soft bed full of the people I love the most.

Gratitude: Fair Weather

Today, I'm thankful that in the first part of November, we've had a few days nice enough to do a little bit of this:

Gratitude: Eric as Daddy

When I agreed to marry Eric, I suspected that he would be good with kids, and that was definitely part of his appeal. But I could never have imagined what a fun, loving, gentle father he would become. Today, I am thankful that the man I chose is a good choice for my children, too.

Gratitude: Imagination

Today, I am thankful for Ellis' wild imagination. We spend countless hours telling stories, reading books, and pretending. Honestly, sometimes the constant chatter gets old, but I know that someday I will look back and wish that he'd tell me a fantastical story about Batman coming to a birthday party at our house.

In these photos, he's using random toy parts to pretend that he's drumming and singing into a microphone. He's singing "Barbara Ann," in case you're curious.

Gratitude: Enthusiasm

Today, I am thankful for childlike enthusiasm--the kind that drives my children to run to the window when they hear a garbage truck nearby. We adults could learn a thing or two from our children about how to enjoy the little pleasures in life.

Spirit of Gratitude

For the month of November, I am getting into the spirit of gratitude in preparation for the Thanksgiving holiday at the end of the month. I have many things to be grateful for, and I find that it's hard to feel down or complain when I'm grateful. So here goes:

Today, I am grateful for boy play, which often includes digging, dumping, messiness, banging, clanging, climbing, running, and jumping. I'm thankful for the way it expends energy and teaches them all sorts of things, like spacial relations, physics, fine motor skills, gross motor skills, and cause-and-effect. Most importantly, it's fun!

Happy Halloween!

Ellis' "day costume" for the farmers market

Rocket Man!

Painting pumpkins

Sorting candy for trick-or-treaters

Candy: ready!

Are we ready yet?!

Rethinking the decision to put candy out on the table...

My "super" handsome guys!

Super family!

The Flash takes his job seriously

Playing with neighborhood kids before the parade

Pre-parade Flash 

Parade!

Collecting the loot!

Happy boy.

Happy Halloween.