Proposal

Last night, this sweet boy asked me to marry him. He promised to love me forever. I couldn't bear to do anything else, so I accepted his proposal.

He says Eric can be our "ring barrier" and can earn a treat if he does a good job.

Library Date

Ellis and I needed some one-on-one time, so we had a library date last night. We plopped right down in the Batman section and selected the 15 books he couldn't live without.

These Two

I love 'em.

Welcome, Henry!

My nephew, baby Henry, made a dramatic entrance to the world this week. I had the honor of acting as a doula at his birth, which has kept me busy and away from the blog! 

Henry was a little more than 5 weeks early, but is doing well. He weighed in at 5 pounds 1 ounce and is 18 1/2 inches long!

I have photos of the little sweetie, but without his parents' consent I'm reluctant to put them out there on the world-wide web. So here's a cute story and photo of my boys: 

On Monday we were at the hospital with Kari, before we knew exactly how imminent his arrival was. The nurse asked her to take off her sweatshirt so she could get an accurate blood pressure reading. So she stripped off her shirt...and next thing I know, I've got two shirtless boys on her bed! It's monkey see, monkey do all the time with these boys!

Flashback Friday

We're still pretty much couch-bound, so how about an oldie-but-goodie? Here I am with my mom, circa 1982.

The story goes that my mom, who was 23 at the time, took me to get portraits taken, but hadn't intended to be in any photos. At the photographer's insistence, she got in the picture despite the fact that she wasn't "camera-ready." Thank goodness she did. She's always been beautiful, and this day was no exception.

Awaiting Spring

The boys have had a yucky tummy bug this week. This has been a sickly winter, and I am SO over it. I'm ready to open our windows, air out the house, go for walks, go to the zoo, play at the park...

Basically, just do less of this:

Buying [Feline] Friends

The cats and the kids don't exactly get along. I see cute photos of little kids dressing up their kitties or putting them in little baskets and whatnot, and it makes me snort a little. Our cats prefer our kids sleeping. Or out of the house, really. They're just not buds. It might be the fact that Ellis has no "subdued" function, or that Ollie swings at them every chance he gets (it's not just the cats; the kid's a slugger). 

So I had this idea! I'll get kitty treats, and the boys can give them out...and then maybe the kitties will like them more! (And hopefully the kids don't get the idea that you can win over friends with treats!)

Masha was skeptical, but she took the treats from Ellis. They did have catnip inside, after all. It was so much fun, the boys wanted to give her more and more! "One more," I'd say, but it was so cute that I doled out another and another.

Then Ellis wanted to tell Masha something, he said. Something about his blocks...being a spaceship. 

It warmed my heart, really. And just as started to have visions of Masha Cat in a bonnet, I heard Oliver saying something that sounded alarmingly like "kitty barf." (Sadly, this was an early piece of his vernacular because we have a barfy cat.) Indeed, one of the kitties had barfed up her treats.

Next time we're trying to buy the kitties' affection, maybe we'll practice a little moderation.

Bird Feeding

I found this idea on the Play at Home Mom blog (here) to make a window bird feeder. The boys really enjoy feeding birds at my mom's house, but we don't have much of a yard here, so I thought this would be a good compromise. 

First, we gathered a few simple supplies: 

Then the boys filled the container with bird seed.

I hung up the feeder using clear Command adhesive...and voila! 

We put this up Friday. I haven't seen any birds personally, but Ellis said he saw one when I wasn't in the room. At any rate, it's been fun for them to watch out the window for birds!

Animal Lover

Our little Oliver is an animal lover, for sure. He even gives his animals kisses and has me "nurse" them.

So sweet.

When playing with dinosaurs...

It's important to get your ROAR....

just right.

Super E!

He's super energetic!

Super entertaining!

Super expressive!

He's Super Ellis!

Speed Racers

What do you do on boring, snowy days? Why, race laundry baskets--er, space ships--of course!

Baby Shower: It's a Buoy!

Have you missed me? Sorry for my absence last week. I've been a busy little bee, planning and crafting and cooking for my sister-in-law, Kari's, nautical baby shower. On Saturday we celebrated little Henry's impending arrival with friends and family. Now we just have to wait until spring to kiss his little cheeks...

Here's a peek at the big day.

The glowing mother-to-be

Kari got a few handmade gifts, which are always special

Mommy and the darling cake

My mother- and sisters-in-law