Sweet Spring

There have been a lot of crazy days lately...I'm not sure how many more teething spells I can take! 

But then there are days like today.

Maybe it didn't start great but...

Eating a grilled cheese,avocado and tomato sandwich for lunch
Snacking on strawberries
Walking through the neighborhood with my boys
Watching Elliot take so much delight in the awful patch of weeds next to our porch

Him singing "friend in me" to his Woody figurine while he splashed in the bathtub...

all made a pretty great middle and end.

Easter and Other Things

I have to admit...Easter rocked this year! (minus the ridiculous amount of time Josh and I spent arguing over who's responsibility it was to find a replacement for the nursery during first service and why the other didn't take are of it)

I usually have a good time at holidays...I just edit out the family crap when it comes time to blog about it. This year though, despite my brother deciding to show up an hour later than planned and the brief bit of "passionate discussion" with Josh, it all went off without much of a hitch. 

Friday started the festivities. We actually had my family (Mom, Dad, Jordan, David and Grandma...minus Landyn who was with his mom) over for dinner (bbq chicken, salad, and a good ol' pot of pinto beans) and then went to town dying all of 20 or so eggs. This is an all time low for our family as egg dying is usually quite the fete. The best part of the night: watching Elliot ultimately turn about 80% green from the markers that turned out to be more like a paintbrush that didn't dry very fast after using them. Apparently they tasted great though since he kept putting them and the colored eggs in his mouth...

Easter Sunday we ditched church (always a slave to my brother's custody schedule) to spend the day in Porterville, starting at my grandma's house for snacks, egg hunts and lunch. Elliot was particularly stoked about the candy...

Scoping out the sweet koi fish pond is always fun...

...and playing with pine cones...

...hunting for plastic eggs to throw on the ground and get to the candy inside...

...back to the pond to throw in some fish food...

...egg hunt number two in one of the best backyards ever...

...and especially playing with the extensive collection of wind chimes.

After lunch and Elliot's nap we all went to my cousin's house where they were hosting Easter for my mom's extended family. 

The kids were adorable on this swing...

...Elliot was adorable in general...

...Landyn rocked yet another egg hunt before stepping on a gigantic thorn...

...and then we all desperately tried to get the kids together for a group photo. Elliot and Peyton, the other "baby" of the group, would have none of it.

***

As for the "other stuff"

I guess I should finally commit to the blog world something about baby #2. This has been a very uneventful pregnancy. Gone are the days when I laid around dreaming of the little boy that would soon become my best buddy. In full force are the days of already being a mommy to an almost 2 year old which means I rarely have a minute to think about baby #2. Other than feeling like a whale or when the baby constantly does stomach turning somersaults or kicks me repeatedly. 

Or when Elliot pulls up my shirt, smiles the most adorable smile, wraps his arms around my belly and mushes his face against it and sings twinkle twinkle little star. That sends me over the moon!

I will officially be halfway through on Monday which seems impossible to me. Halfway to a family of four, to life changing newborn snuggles, and all that implies...halfway to so much change. Did I mention I'm really excited??? And only a few days away from knowing if this crazy kicking, flipping bean is a boy or a girl.

We will find out the gender the day before our 3 year anniversary. This year we are FINALLY taking the beach trip we say we will take every year. We have a hotel booked, someone to watch Elliot and lots of excitement. I don't remember the last time we went out just the two of us, let alone overnight and right next to the ocean!!

Other than that we are hopefully going to start ripping up the carpet in our house to lay down our new beautiful floors!! So excited. And I won't bother catching blogger up on the crazy flood my son caused which ended with an $1800 check and 45 cases of flooring sitting in our garage. The important thing is we are one step closer to making this house feel more like a home. Throwing out those stained old rugs will feel like a new chapter in our lives. New floor, new paint (hopefully), new nursery, new baby...I can't wait for September and the end of the year! So much will have happened by then. 

In a small way I feel like I'm getting the hang of being a mom...being able to balance play time and work. Getting projects done and making a visible change to my house every day. It's amazing what solitude will do. It used to drive me crazy...and yah, it still leaves me feeling lonely and disconnected but also I am focusing more on things like daily Bible reading, making the most out of my time with Elliot, keeping up with the kitchen because it helps my life feel a little less out of control. Speaking of which...I've been up since 3am and yet feel the need to get started on my day. So on that note...

Remember when

This and neon pink were my favorite colors to do. I loved this particular round of red dye in my hair, it was super shiny and pretty in the sun.

This was while I was in cosmetology school. One of my all time favorite haircuts.

and drumroll...

oh when my hair was platinum blonde.

I added the brown a while later because I got tired of
1. Being called Marilyn Monroe and

2. People criticizing my dark eyebrows. Someone told me they looked like brown caterpillars on my face...rude.

I will have to go hunting for some others. I have done purple, pink, burgundy with red and pink, black/bleach panels with purple, orange, blue and black...you name it, I've probably had it in my hair along with every possible cut. Sigh. I miss having a disposable income.

Sooo

Who wants a post after what...4 months?

Here are a few pictures from the last few months I finally took time to put on our computer:

We went to this cute little "museum" that is downtown Visalia called ImagineU. It really didn't impress me much as an adult but Elliot thought it was pretty great. They have an inside toddler play area, cool science experiments that are hands on to teach you about really neat things like electricity as well as an outside play area that is home to a very, very old fire engine the kids are allowed to play on.

After getting up from this picture I realized the seat of my pants were WET. So I went to lunch with soaked jeans. 

Another favorite thing for us is the park. Swinging on mommy's lap is his deepest delight while we are there. 

Also with the sunshine have come many adventures to our driveway to play with chalk. And then play with chalk some more.

And last, this is my latest crochet project. A friend of mine is having a baby shower this Saturday. Her nursery will be owl themed. I found this great fleece fabric and after Candace kindly stitched it up into a rectangle for me I added a crochet edging to give it a more finished look. I then got started on figuring out a pattern for this owl hat, as I knew I wanted it to look a little different than the other one I made. Overall I am really happy with how they both turned out. 

Stay tuned because possibly in another four months I'll have a few pictures and a lot of nothing exciting to share, hah.

Go Team!

This is what happens when grandma and grandpa are huge 49er fans and have season tickets to the games AND happen to buy jerseys for their two grandsons while at one such game.

My little future football star in all his glory:

Party Hat

This is the hat I worked on yesterday for our friends' son's first birthday party on Saturday. I LOVE the yarn, it's really cool how it changes texture and adds little pops of color. 

Being on quite a tiny budget this year inspired me to attempt all of our holiday gifts for $5 or less. Even though this is a birthday gift I thought it would be a fun challenge, so I found a free hat pattern on Ravelry. After making a couple of personal adjustments to the pattern, creating all the owl features myself and buying yarn on sale with an additional 25% off  (and using some I already had on hand) it came in right about $5! 

The picture of Elliot is blurry because he is not a fan of hats and was rather upset with me for trying to take that picture. 

The good news is that it even looks cute on a pouting face!

Rob Crow

This beautiful bearded man is responsible for two of my favorite songs.
I think about these two song a lot this time of year.

Hello, blogger, it's been awhile

I made an attempt at a post and all that came out was a stampede of thoughts that lacked cohesion. I will try again soon.

Until then

Here's What's Up

* Something cool:

My grandmother (the wife of my grandfather that just passed away last month) recently gave me my dad's first pair of Levi's! These were probably worn around 1962. Being a lover of vintage and all things of family value, this was quite an exciting gift to receive! I can't wait to try them on Elliot.

* A few days ago we found our cat, Indy, hit by a car at the beginning of our cul de sac. When I first moved into our home in February of 2009, he ran in the door one day and we have had him ever since. Even after we had him fixed, he was a feisty cat that never seemed happy but was always happy to receive our love. It's been an emotional month in general so it goes without saying (yet I will still say it) that I took it pretty hard. I will miss him very much.

* My little man is getting so big. He has such a beautiful smile. I am so overwhelmed with the desire for another child. I don't know if I have ever felt as needed as the time I have been a mother. It has given my life a purpose I always lusted after and now completely embrace.
Most of  my friends (which is a very short list) do not live close by. I have no one that I "hang out" with on a regular basis. I see my mom when she can steal away a few moments...she is my best friend, someone I don't know what I would do without. Never that elusive "friend" though...one that hasn't moved away, kept too busy for those frequent chats and visits, or gone through lengthy spells of discord. I have to admit I am in one of those really achy, lonely spells where all of this is extremely apparent.
But every morning I do have one of my favorite (physical) constants: Elliot. He is my company and joy throughout my days. He is never too busy for me and thinks I'm brilliant, funny and extremely fun to hang out with. He has gotten me through these past couple of months, holding me steady each day until his dad comes home. I love him more than these words do justice.

* On the subject of friends, a dear friend of mine since junior high is getting married in September. I am so excited to be there to celebrate her marriage. I am sad that she will be moving to England after the wedding, as I rarely see her these as she lives down south. 

* Saturday I have a shopping trip planned with my mother and grandmother. I am really excited!

That's about it...

Five Minutes to Midnight

make the clock stop

make your heart drop

become alive

-boys like girls

Oh, how I thought my days...uh, nights, of insomnia were behind me. 

Here are a few of my thoughts as I cross over into Thursday:

1. Fashion blogs are really, really dumb. Your daily outfit choices are just NOT important, ladies. You make me despair more than just a little.

2. I have never enjoyed staying up for hours when normal humans are sleeping.

3. I'd like to go to sleep now.

4. Unfortunately I'm still awake. 11:59...and counting.

Just like daddy